An Historic Election In Egypt(For Billy Lee Hae Gyu)

Egypt뭩 long-time president is reelected in the first election in history with more than one candidate
For the first time ever, Egyptians voted in a presidential election that had more than one candidate. Long-time President Hosni Mubarak, 77, was reelected this week with an overwhelming 88 percent of the vote. Mubarak has ruled Egypt for 24 years. This was his sixth election.
In the past, the president was chosen through a 몑es?or 몁o?vote. Mubarak was the only choice given to voters.
This time, Mubarak faced nine opposing candidates, but only two are widely known. In second place was Ayman Nour, 40, of the Al-Ghad party with 7.3 percent of the vote. Noaman Gomaa, 71, of the Wafd Party, was third, with 2.3 percent.
Election: Flawed, But Positive
Many people say the election was not fair because many people were afraid to vote for any of Mubarak뭩 opponents. They also say turnout was so low. Opponents hoped at least 30 percent of voters would come to the polls. Instead, just 23 percent of registered voters did.
Still, many people agree that holding an election with opponents was a positive step for Egypt, the world뭩 largest Arab country. 밠aybe some violations happened, but we have to agree that we뭨e seeing an experience that we can build on for a future that realizes more freedom and more democracy in the Egyptian society,?said Information Minister Anas al-Fiqi.
Nour, who came in a distant second, said the election was "not fair at all." He said he would not accept rigged results. Nour requested the election be held again, but his request was denied.
Fast Facts: Egypt
Capital: Cairo
Population: 77.5 million
Area: 385,200 square miles (three times the size of New Mexico)
Languages: Arabic (official); English and French are widely used
Literacy: 57.7% of the population age 15 or older can read and write
Poverty: 16.7% of the population lives in poverty
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