Egyptian Election Underway

The first election since Hosni Mubarak resigned begins as thousands of protesters call for the military council to follow his lead.

Elections in Egypt are underway, and some reports say lines at voting stations stretch for as long as three kilometres despite a massive protest in Tahrir Square calling for the vote to be postponed. This first round of voting is to determine the make-up of the 508-member People's Assembly, the lower house of Egypt's new government. A vote for the upper house will be held early next year, with the government expected to take shape by March. Some 50 political parties have been registered, although most observers believe that the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood stands to take the most seats in the lower house. Protesters camped out in Tahrir Square in Cairo and elsewhere have been calling for the election to be delayed until the military government led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi steps aside. At least 41 protesters have been killed in the nine days of demonstrations.