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The faces of Egypt’s voters
Residents of Alexandria describe the feeling of taking part in historic election to choose the country’s next president.
"I feel proud because it(***)s the first time I vote for president and get to learn about his programme for Egypt. It(***)s very new for us. Egypt is flourishing and recovering." - Menna Saleh, 21
By
Matthew Cassel
Published On 23 May 2012
23 May 2012
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"It seems good until now, but it(***)s the counting process that matters. This is my third time ever voting, all since the revolution [referendum, parliamentary and now presidential]. I voted for Aboul Fotouh because he(***)s a moderate." - Mustafa Nassar Lasheen, 70
"I feel, God willing, that this will be good for the country and my vote will be considered." - Iman Hafez, 48
"I feel comfortable, very happy. It(***)s the first time I vote and I feel my voice is going to make a difference. This will make Egypt one of the strongest countries in the world. I voted for Hamdeen Sabahi." - Mohamed Essam, 20
"Very happy to be living in a democracy. I voted for Amr Moussa." - Randa Mofran, 49
"It(***)s a great day because every Egyptian can vote for his president [though] I don(***)t know what(***)s next." - Ibrahim al-Hagg, 58
"I feel comfortable and happy that for the first time my vote is important. God willing, everything will be okay. I(***)m very optimistic. I voted for Amr Moussa." - Hannan Feteilha, 48
"I(***)m free to choose which president would represent me. I was hoping for a long time that this day would come. Everything will improve. Even if someone wins whom I didn(***)t choose, I will respect him because he(***)s the choice of the majority." - Mohamed Ahmed Hendy, 28
"I don(***)t feel happy because there was a lack of information [before the elections]. The media is only focusing on the Muslim Brotherhood and not the other candidates. The Brotherhood uses Islam, but it(***)s far from Islam. They say one thing and do something else." - Hassan Kamal Mustafa, 59
"I hope the outcome will be good. It(***)s unclear what(***)s next. I hope I can be optimistic. I voted for Hamdeen Sabahi, and he(***)s the only one who represents the revolution." - Nabil Shikry Anis, 56
"I feel very happy and I hope whoever is best will win the elections. I hope democracy will last for my children and grandchildren. I voted for Hamdeen Sabahi because I feel he was the closest to the people. He feels the suffering of the Egyptians." - Zizi Ali, 60
"I feel great, thank God. For the first time all segments of Egypt are voting for their president without pressure from anyone. Muslims, Christians, everyone. God willing, it will be good for Egypt." - Samir Zaky Shehata, 73
"I(***)m extremely happy my voice and my vote count in choosing who(***)s going to rule Egypt. I hope that we(***)ll see better days ... and that our problems will be solved. I always voted ... but I didn(***)t feel it counted when Hosni Mubarak would take 99 per cent." - Abdel Moneim Akl, 75
"I thank God for the opportunity [to elect our president]. I thought the day would never come. I(***)m optimistic. I voted for Aboul Fotouh but I(***)ll be happy with the majority. We all need to work to make Egypt better." - Riham Mustafa, 20
"I really hope that the best person for the country wins and that my children will have a better life than I did." - Abdel Karim Hassan, 58
"I(***)m happy that for the first time we are voting for our president. Now the term will be four years and if he doesn(***)t do what the people want, they wont accept it. I(***)m not happy with the turnout. I(***)m going to go home and tell everyone to come vote." - Sahar Samir Zaky, 43
"I(***)m happy, it(***)s the first time I ever voted. I don(***)t know how to describe it. God willing, it(***)ll be good for Egypt. I voted for Ahmed Shafiq." - Assaf Saad Assaf, 62
"This is the first time I(***)ve voted and I know my canddaite might win. God willing, it(***)s better for the country. The revolution made me believe. If it wasn(***)t for the revolution we(***)d have Gamal Mubarak right now." - Islam Mohamed, 22
"I feel we finally have dignity and we can vote for who we want. God willing, it will be good for the country. I voted for Mohamed Morsi." - Sahar Mohamed, 39
"I(***)m worried and waiting for the results. Ahmed Shafiq, the candidate I voted for, is being attacked a lot now, as during the revolution." - Ahmed Mohamed Sharikawy, 32
"I hope these elections are good for the country and better than what we had in the past. We want the right to work and things to be more affordable. We want a better life. I voted for Hamdeen Sabahi." - Nahla Mahmoud, 28
"Thank God. There were no problems, nothing. I feel good. I would(***)ve never imagined this day would come. I voted for Amr Moussa." - Samra al-Sayed, 52
"Today is a good day. We want someone to run the country. It(***)ll be the prosperous country that it deserves to be. I voted for Amr Moussa because he knows the country." - Ali Ibrahim Fouda, 59
"I really hope the winning candidate will focus on the youth and creating jobs. We have to thank the martyrs who gave their lives for this day to happen. Before I voted I said a prayer in remembrance of them. I voted for Aboul Fotouh." - Ahmad Alaa, 21
"This is the first I feel alive. Before I felt like I didn(***)t exist. But that all changed when we began saying "no". I voted for Mohamed Morsi." - Gihad Said Narasani, 20
"I(***)ve never felt this happy before. All I can think of is the martyrs; I feel their dreams are starting to become realised. I voted for Hamdeen Sabahi." - Mona Mohamed, 22
"For the first time I can choose the president of my country. Hopefully it will be better. But it depends on who wins, if the person is good or not. The elections could be forged. I voted for Mohamed Morsi because of his [Islamic] renaissance project for Egypt." - Abeer Al-Sayed, 31
"We voted and we(***)re going to see a new president who will hopefully be good for the country." - Sayed al-Sayed, 51
"Today(***)s a celebration because Egypt is going forward. I voted for Ahmed Shafiq because he is a military man and Egypt needs someone from the military. I voted for the Muslim Brotherhood [in parliamentary elections last year] and they turned out to be liars." - Abdel Rahim Abdel Wahab, 58
"Today for the first time I(***)m voting for my president. It(***)s a great feeling." - Emad al-Din, 32