Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak  casts his vote in Cairo in Egypt's first multi-candidate presidential elections September 7, 2005. (Xinhua Photo)

    CAIRO, Sept. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Egyptian voters began early Wednesday to cast ballots to choose their president from among ten competing candidates in the country's first direct multi-candidate presidential election.

    Polling stations in the capital Cairo opened around 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) as voters weighed their decision on who will get the top job in the most populous Arab country.

    All around the country, a total of about 32 million eligible voters will be able for the first time to choose their leader from among more than one candidates through direct secret balloting.

    More than 9,000 polling stations will stay open until 10 p.m. (1900 GMT) and the deadline could be extended, said the Presidential Election Commission, adding final results would be announced within three days after the polls ended.
 
    Election workers were preparing ballot boxes at a polling station converted from a school room, a Xinhua correspondent said from one of the polling stations in the capital Cairo. A court staff was there to supervise the process, he added.

    The first voter at the polling station happened to be a young man in his 20s who wore a T-shirt with a headshot of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and words which read "Mubarak, 2005" in Arabic, the campaigning log of the incumbent president.

    Wumeim Moustafa, 53, was among the first to show up at the polling station and said she could not wait to exercise her constitution right to vote.

    "This is the first time I take part in a presidential election," said Wumeim, who had got a medical doctorate, adding "I'm eager to participate in this democratic process."

    Moustafa Imad, in his 70s, praised President Mubarak for opening the presidential poll to more than one candidate.

    "This is an important step as Egypt moves toward full democracy," said the grey-haired retired university teacher. "No matter who wins the election, I hope he can bring about a better life for the Egyptian people," he added.

    In February, Mubarak proposed holding contested presidential election to replace an old system, under which the parliament nominated a single candidate for approval in a referendum.

    A referendum in may approved a major constitutional amendment, paving the way for the first direct multi-candidate presidential election in the most populous Arab country.

    Among the ten contestants is Mubarak, candidate of the ruling National Democratic Party, who is seeking a fifth six-year term of office on a platform of economic and political reform.

    Mubarak, 77, has ruled the country since 1981 after his predecessor Anwar Sadat was gunned down by extreme Islamists who accused him of making peace with Israel.

    Among his nine challengers, only two stands out, namely Noaman Gomaa, candidate of the liberal New Wafd Party and Ayman Nour, candidate of the Ghad (Tomorrow) Party. The remaining candidates are relatively little known to the public.

    With all the campaigning activities, most analysts have predicted Mubarak will snatch a comfortable win given to the fact he has won respect at home as a force for stability and support of the United States as a key mediator in the Mideast peace process. Enditem