Voting began Wednesday in Egypt, where more than 50 million registered voters may choose the first genuinely democratically elected president in the country’s history.
In the Al-Sayeda Zeinab and Al-Sayeda Aisha neighborhoods of Cairo, hundreds of people lined up outside polling stations ahead of poll opening at 8 a.m. They warmly welcomed President and Mrs. Carter as they arrived to witness voting as part of the 100-member Carter Center delegation.
Those in line expressed enthusiasm, many preparing to vote for the first time in their lives. “These are two days of feast for us,” an elderly voter told Mrs. Carter. “The sun has risen in Egypt,” said another.
Some of those who participated in the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak had lost enthusiasm, but 24-year-old Gehad Abada still thought it was important to vote.
“I am not hopeful about who we will elect as the next president per se, but I am hopeful that he will leave after four years and that we will hold him accountable for what he does, and for anything that goes wrong,” she said.
In a country holding its first real election after decades of dictatorship under one person, that hope means a lot.
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