Today the Egyptians continue voting تصويت to choose a president from thirteen candidates in the first free presidential elections after the 25th January 2011 Revolution. The voting process عملية started yesterday and is considered a turning point inEgypt’s modern history. No  one can predict who the winner will be. There are five frontrunners who are expected to dominate the polls; two of them are Islamists and two ex ministers who served under Mubarak. The successful candidate must obtain more than half of the votes otherwise the two top candidates will face off  in a run off election scheduled for June 16 and 17.

About 50 million eligible Egyptian voters have been called to participate in the process. The next president will inherit a struggling economy, deteriorating security and the challenge of uniting a nation divided by the uprising and its sometimes deadly aftermath, but his powers are yet to be defined by a new constitution. Ballot boxes from Wednesday were kept overnight in the stations after being sealed with wax by election commission officials and left under military and police protection. Results are expected on Sunday.

• The thirteen candidates according to the order in the voting form are:

1- Abo El-Izz Al-Hariri أبو العز الحريرى: He is an Alexandria MP representing the SocialistPopular Alliance Party حزب التحالف الشعبي الاشتراكي  and the Revolution Continues Alliance تحالف الثورة مستمرة  .

2- Mohammad Fawzi Eissa محمد فوزى عيسى :He represents the Democratic Generation Party حزب الجيل الديمقراطي . He withdrew on May 16 2012 in favor of Amr Moussa.

3- Ahmad Hossam أحمد حسام :He represents the Democratic Peace Partyحزب السلام الديمقراطي

4- Amr Moussa عمرو موسى  : He is an independent candidate. Moussa was the ex-Secreatry General الأمين العام  of the League of Arab States جامعة الدول العربية and former Minister of Foreign Affairs وزير الشئون الخارجية .

5- Abdel Mon’im Aboul-Fotouh عبد المنعم أبو الفتوح : He was the Secretary General السكرتير العام of Arab medical Union إتحاد  الأطباء العرب . Aboul-Fotouh was a Muslim Brotherhood member but was dismissed because of his decision to run for presidency at a time when the group announced that they would not nominate any of its members to run for president. Aboul-Fotouh is an independent candidate. He is backed by the Salafi Al-Noor Party حزب النور السلفي and the moderate Islamic Al-Wassat Party حزب الوسط and the Egyptian Current Party حزب التيار المصري  . Aboul Fotouh is well known for his strong opposition to both the Sadat and Mubarak regimes, as well as his openness towards people of different political views. He was detained once during Sadat’s rule and twice during Mubarak’s rule. He has promised to appoint a vice-president نائب رئيس who is a youth revolutionary and to fill over half of the country’s important posts with youth شباب under the age of 45 .

6- Hisham Al-Bastaweesy هشام البسطويسى : He was an Egyptian judge and the vise president of the Egyptian Court of Cassation محكمة النقض . He represents the Tagammu’ Party حزب التجمع .

7- Mahmoud Hossam محمود حسام : Hossam is an independent candidate and is the president of the Beginning Party حزب البداية .

8- Muhammad Selim Al-Aw’wa محمد سليم العوا : Al-Aw’wa was the Ex-Secretary General of the International Union of the Muslim Scholars and Head of the Egyptian Association for Culture and Dialogue. Al-Aw’wa is an Islamic thinkerwho has written many books about Political Islam. He is an independent candidate.

9- Ahmad Shafeeq أحمد شفيق : Shafeeq was an Air Marshal and was the last Prime Minister رئيس وزراء under Hosni Mubarak. He runs the race as an independent candidate but is backed by so many businessmen and capitalists from the ex-regime supporters.

10- Hamdeen Sab’bahi حمدين صباحى : Sab’bahi represents the Nasserist Dignity Party حزب الكرامة الناصري that he leads. He is bestknown for his strong opposition to the Mubarak regime and his support for the 2011 Revolution. Lots of people stand in his side as an escape from the Islamists and the ex-regime candidates.

11- Abdallah Al-Ash’al عبد الله الأشعل : He represents the Authenticity Party حزب الأصالة  which is an conservative party. Al-Ash’al withdrew in favor of the Muslim brotherhood candidate.

12- Khalid Ali خالد على : He is a lawyer محامى and a labor activist. Khalid was the former head of theEgyptianCenter for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR). He also was a founding member of the Hisham Mubarak Law center (HMLC). He runs for president as an independent candidate.

13- Muhammad Morsi محمد مرسى : Morsi is the chairman of the freedom and Justice Party حزب الحرية و العدالة  that was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood الإخوان المسلمين after the 2011 Revolution. He is the replacement candidate for the eliminated Khairat Al-Shaater. Lots Egyptians are angry with the Muslim brotherhood and their party because they had announced earlier that they would not nominate a president candidate but as the situation changed after the parliamentary elections, they decided to join the race; a step that raised so many questions about the intentions of the still restricted group.