Egypt may have voted, but don’t celebrate just yet

Many thought the day would never come. Even as recently as yesterday, some doubted it would happen. But today Egyptians went to the polls in the country’s first parliamentary elections since Hosni Mubarak’s fall, hoping to take a first step toward democracy. Under a complex electoral system, voters picked both party lists and individual candidates. The final results are due by 13 January 2012.

As it stands, the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest and best organised group, along with Salafists, are expected to do well in the vote — after all, Islamists did prosper in the elections in Morocco and Tunisia. But it is not assured. Voters may feel that the Islamists have been too opportunistic in both their alliance with the military and their unwillingness to join last week’s protests. 

Despite the problems experienced in the pre-election period, the election is likely to be fairer than anything organised in Egypt before.