Thousands of Egyptians gather in Tahrir Square after Mohamed Morsi is declared the nation's first democratically elected president on Sunday, June 24. In a nationally televised speech, the longtime member of the Muslim Brotherhood promised to represent all Egyptians.
Cairo (CNN) -- About half all Egypt's registered voters had cast ballots through the second and final day of the country's historic presidential election, a top elections official said Thursday.
Voting continued into the night Thursday. Farouk Sultan, head of the Higher Presidential Committee, vowed on state television that the election would continue until the last person in any given polling station had cast his vote.
Amid worries by some that Egypt's current military rulers might somehow hijack the election, Sultan detailed the vote counting process -- including checks and balances aimed at insuring credibility.
According to the committee head, votes will be tallied in the various polling locales by a judge and in the presence of representatives of the candidates. Each final count will be announced aloud, then an official report will be filed that can be viewed by nonprofit groups, the media and candidates, said Sultan.
There are 13 candidates on the ballot, although two withdrew from the race after ballots were printed. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round will be held June 16-17.
Results of the first round are not expected before the weekend.
Government employees were given the day off work to vote to decide who will be Egypt's first president since Hosni Mubarak, who led the North African nation for 30 years before resigning amid a popular outcry. He is awaiting the court's verdict and could potentially face the death penalty after going on trial for allegedly ordering the killing of anti-government protesters and corruption.
Voting went smoothly in a northern suburb of Cairo earlier Thursday, where women waited between 30 and 45 minutes to cast their ballots.
A day earlier, a wave of enthusiasm swept across polling stations, with some waiting up to four hours to vote.
"Finally, Egypt is born," one weeping 80-year-old man told U.S. Rep. David Dreier, a California Republican who is in Cairo as an election observer.
Grandmother Nadia Fahmy, 70, was so determined to be the first one to vote at her polling station that she camped out in a plastic chair for 2½ hours before it opened on Wednesday.
"I am here to vote for the first time in my life," said Fahmy. "I want to see a new generation for my country. I want everything to change."
After polls closed that day, a former top U.N. official called the election a potential turning point for the country.
If "ordinary Egyptians see this as a legitimate expression of their own popular will," regardless of who wins, "then it can be a prelude to the real return of security and stability in the country," said Mark Malloch Brown.
The former top diplomat and development expert said he was very optimistic about what lay ahead for Egypt in a few years down the road, even if the country was probably in for a "bumpy ride" in the short term.
"We went through this with Eastern Europe after 1989," when the Communist regimes there fell, Malloch Brown told CNN's "Connect the World" program. "It just takes time. People need to settle into a new political order. Whatever happens in the next months, people need to just hold onto the fact that (Egypt) will get there."
He predicted that a post-revolutionary Egypt would be "a little bit more Islamic than it was before, a little bit more feisty and independent vis-a-vis the U.S. and Israel," while domestically, it would "really try and focus on doing a much better deal for poor Egyptians."
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The voting is a monumental achievement for those who worked to topple Mubarak in one of the seminal developments of the Arab Spring more than a year ago. And it could reverberate far beyond the country's borders, since Egypt is in many ways the center of gravity of the Arab world.
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"Egypt has always set trends in the Arab world and for Arab political thought. Trends spread through the Arab world and eventually affect even non-Arab, Muslim-majority countries," said Maajid Nawaz, the chairman of Quilliam, a London-based think tank.
Egypt's election "bodes well for the rest of the Arab world and particularly those countries that have had uprisings," said Nawaz, a former Islamist who was imprisoned in Egypt for four years for banned political activism.
In a report released Thursday, Amnesty International was critical of the military leaders who rule Egypt in its annual report on human rights around the world.
"In some cases they've continued the abuses of the Mubarak regime, in that over 100 people have been killed in the streets in demonstrations as a result of excessive force used by security or military forces," said Philip Luther, deputy director for the advocacy group's Middle East and North Africa program.
Amnesty is also opposed to the use of "virginity testing" on some women protesters, saying it is "tantamount to torture and totally unacceptable."
The authorities have not done enough to ensure that women can contribute on an equal footing with men to the ongoing process of political reform, Luther also said.
Amnesty wants whoever takes office as president to end the state of emergency and end the use of military trials for civilians.
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The concern about the powerful military possibly swaying this week's vote persists despite the insistence of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that it will hand over power to an elected civilian government. The military leaders put armored personnel carriers on the streets with loudspeakers broadcasting a message that they will relinquish power, but that did not convince doubters.
Some 30,000 volunteers have fanned out to make sure the voting is fair, said organizers with the April 6 youth movement, which has long campaigned for greater democracy and rule of law in Egypt.
They reported only minor violations on Wednesday, mostly supporters of one candidate or another trying to influence voters at polling stations.
Nawaz, the analyst in London, said Egypt probably is not heading toward a simple case of the military either giving up control or rejecting the results of the election.
Instead, he anticipated, there will be an "unhappy settlement" where the military remains "ever-present, in the shadows," influencing the civilian government without controlling it.
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"Egypt is going along similar lines to Turkey or Pakistan," he said, naming two other countries that have formal democracies in place but where a powerful military can affect events.
The degree to which the military continues to exercise control in Egypt will depend on who wins the election, Nawaz anticipated -- but he laughed aloud when asked to predict who that would be.
Whoever wins the election, Nawaz said, will face tremendous challenges, even without worries about the army.
"They are inheriting a failed economy, an abysmal bureaucracy, a frustrated people, and a deep distrust on behalf of the people towards their military and any policing," Nawaz said.
Protesters are upset at what they see as the slow pace of reform since Mubarak's ouster. Some are also concerned that the country's military leadership is delaying the transition to civilian rule.
And Egypt has an elaborate political mosaic where alliances shift quickly, he added.
Secular democrats oppose military rule, for example, but if an Islamist candidate wins the presidency, "Some of the democrats would switch because they would rather have military rule than the Islamists," Nawaz said.
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"It's far more complicated than 'Islamists vs. liberal democracy.' It's rich vs. poor, (hardline) Salafists vs. the (more moderate) Muslim Brotherhood, secularists vs. Islamists," he said.
On top of that, the country does not yet have a new constitution defining the powers of the president or the parliament, after a court last month suspended the committee charged with writing it. The court ruled that the members of the committee did not reflect the national population well enough.
Among the candidates vying for the presidency are Mohamed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party; Amre Moussa, who served as foreign minister under Mubarak and headed the Arab League; Abdelmonen Abol Fotoh, a moderate Islamist running as a respected independent; Ahmed Shafik, who was Mubarak's last prime minister; and Hamdeen Sabahy, a leftist dark-horse contender.
In January, two Islamist parties -- the Freedom and Justice Party with 235 seats and the conservative Al Nour party with 121 seats -- won about 70% of the seats in the lower house of parliament in the first elections for an elected governing body in the post-Mubarak era. The rest of the assembly's 498 seats were divided among other parties.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz and Hala Gorani and journalists Ian Lee and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report from Cairo. Richard Allen Greene and Laura-Smith Spark reported from London.
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As fireworks burst overhead, Egyptians in Tahrir Square celebrate Mohamed Morsi's election on Sunday.
A supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood is carried away from the tightly packed arena of Tahrir Square in Cairo on Sunday as Mohamed Morsi supporters celebrate his victory in Egypt's presidential election.
Morsi suppporters celebrate in front of a picture of him at his campaign headquarters in Cairo on June 24.
Supporters of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik react after hearing the results of the presidential elections in Cairo on June 24.
Farouq Sultan, center, head of the Higher Presidential Election Commission, reads the results of the presidential runoff election in Cairo on Sunday, declaring Morsi the winner.
Muslim Brotherhood supporters cheer in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday after hearing of Morsi's victory in Egypt's presidential election.
Egyptians celebrate the election of Morsi after he won 51% of the vote to defeat Shafik.
Egyptians fill Tahrir Square on Sunday, June 24, as they wait for the elections commission to announce the winner of the country's presidential election.
Female supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, protest against Egypt's military rulers in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Saturday, June 23. Egyptian election officials had postponed the announcement of a winner in last weekend's presidential runoff, stating they needed more time to evaluate charges of electoral abuse that could affect who becomes the country's next president.
A supporter of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, holds up a wooden Christian cross and Muslim crescent as he and others demonstrate in Nasr city on the outskirts of Cairo, on Saturday, June 23.
The official election results are expected on June 24.
Protesters demonstrate against Egypt's military rulers.
Protesters take a break from shouting slogans to pray in Tahrir Square.
Protesters sleep as they camp overnight in Tahrir Square.
Protesters wave flags and shout slogans in Tahrir Square on Friday, June 22, in Cairo.
Crowds gather in Tahrir Square to protest against Egypt's military rulers.
Protesters shout slogans to denounce what they claim is a power grab by the ruling military, as the nation nervously awaits the results of the first post-Mubarak presidential election.
Protesters gather in front of wall art in Tahrir Square.
Protesters perform Friday noon prayer under tents erected in Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square.
Egyptian activists rest at the foot of a banner of presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Thursday, June 21.
Muslim clerics join demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Thursday to protest the delay of the presidential election results. The Presidential Election Commission postponed the release of the presidential election results, and both candidates have declared themselves winners.
A supporter of Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik kisses a portrait of him during a Cairo rally Wednesday, June 20. Shafik was the last prime minister to serve under Hosni Mubarak
Morsi supporters rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday, June 18. Morsi declared victory as Egypt's first democratically elected president even as military rulers issued a decree that virtually stripped the position of power.
Morsi supporters wave flags Monday in Cairo's Tahrir Square after the Islamists claimed victory. The square was considered the heart of the February 2011 uprising that led to Hosni Mubarak's downfall.
The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi makes his way through supporters at electoral headquarters early Monday in Cairo. In a victory speech, Morsi did not address the military council's move but tried to allay fears he would impose an Islamist state.
Morsi supporters celebrate Monday in Cairo. Votes in the Egyptian capital, the largest population center, continued to be tallied, but unofficial results by a state-run news website showed Morsi leading elsewhere with 11.2 million votes, compared with 10.3 million for Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister in the waning days of Mubarak's regime.
Egyptian election officials count ballots at a polling station in Cairo on Sunday, June 17. The official vote count was scheduled to be finished Monday.
The Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday claims its candidate, Mohamed Morsi, has defeated foe Ahmed Shafik to become Egypt's president.
An Egyptian woman shows her ink-stained finger, marking that she voted in Cairo on Sunday.
Women line up to vote at a polling station in Cairo, Egypt, on the second and final day of the run-off presidential election.
Women line-up to cast their vote at a polling station in Cairo on Sunday.
Egyptian Christian Coptic men help a woman reach a polling station in the Cairo Coptic Shubra neighborhood on Saturday, June 16. Voters returned to the polls after Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the Islamist-led Parliament must be immediately dissolved.
A full-veiled Egyptian woman casts her vote at a polling station in Cairo on June 16.
Egyptians queue outside a polling station in Cairo.
An Egyptian Muslim Salafist shows his ink-stained finger after voting at a polling station.
An Egyptian woman dips her finger in indelible ink after casting her ballot.
Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi, center, waves to his supporters as he arrives at a polling station to vote in the city of Zagazig.
An Egyptian woman casts her ballot in Cairo.
Egyptians check to see their names are listed before casting their votes at a polling station.
Egyptian women dip their fingers in ink after voting at a polling station.
An elderly Egyptian man shows the indelible ink stain on his finger after voting on the first day of the second round of the historical presidential election at a polling station in the city of Zagazig.
Egyptians push a truck that was blocking the entrance of a polling station.
An Egyptian man smiles after casting his vote in Giza.
A veiled Egyptian woman looks for her name on the registered voters' list in the city of Zagazig.
An Egyptian Coptic Christian woman casts her vote in the Cairo Coptic neighborhood of Shubra.
Egyptian women cast their votes at a polling station.
An Egyptian woman holds her baby as she prepares to vote at a polling station in Cairo.
An Egyptian man shows off his little finger covered in indelible ink after casting his vote at a polling station in Cairo.
An Egyptian man on his donkey shows his ink-stained finger after casting his ballot.
Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi casts his ballot at a polling station in the city of Zagazig.
An Egyptian woman holds up an ink-stained finger after casting her vote at a polling station in Cairo.
An elderly Egyptian man registers Saturday before voting in the city of Zagazig in an election that pits Ahmed Shafik, the last premier of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, against Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi.
Election officials and an Egyptian soldier direct voters during the second stage of runoff presidential elections at a polling station in Giza.
Egyptian Christian Coptic men check the voters' list Saturday outside a polling station in the Cairo Coptic neighborhood of Shubra.
Egyptians burn the likeness of presidential candidate and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik in Cairo on Friday, the eve of the nation's presidential election.
A bus driver stops to wave in support of Egyptian protesters making their way to Tahrir Square on Thursday.
Egyptians pray in Tahrir Square on Thursday during a protest against presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik.
A protester stands on a barricade of barbed wire as Egyptian military police stand guard. Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that the Islamist-led parliament must be immediately dissolved.
An Egyptian boy waves his shoes as he joins supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in a protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square against Mubarak-era prime minister and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik after Egypt's top court rejected on Thursday a law barring him from standing in a tense presidential poll runoff.
Protestors gesture towards military police through a barricade of barbed wire during a protest against presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik outside the Supreme Constitutional Court on Thursday.
People walk past graffiti showing faces of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, right; Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, second right; former Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Mussa, second left, and former prime minister and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, left, at Tahrir square.
A boy peers through barbed wire at Egyptian military police standing guard outside the Constitutional Court in Cairo on Thursday, June 14.
Egyptian women line up to cast their vote Saturday.
Former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, center, is seated before addressing a business conference in Cairo on Wednesday.
Egyptians read the front page of newspapers for sale outside of Al-Fatah Mosque in Cairo on Friday, May 25.
Ballots are counted by election officials in Alexandria as the country eagerly awaits the outcome Friday.
A supporter of presidential candidate Abdelmonen Abol Fotoh voices her opinions at Tahrir Square on Friday.
Supporters of various candidates debate outside Al-Fatah Mosque in Cairo on Friday.
Electoral officials monitor voting in Namul, a village north of Cairo, on Thursday, May 24, the second and final day of voting in Egypt's historic presidential election. Egypt is holding its first presidential election since last year's toppling of Hosni Mubarak, part of the wave of Arab Spring uprisings.
Egyptian women wait in line Thursday to cast their vote outside a polling station in Cairo. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote in the first round of voting, a second round will be held June 16-17.
An election worker checks the identification of a voter at a polling place Thursday in Namul as Egyptian soldiers stand guard.
A soldier stands watch in the Egyptian capital on the second day of voting. A pervasive fear exists that the powerful military, which has run the country since Mubarak's fall 16 months ago, could try to hijack the election.
An Egyptian man waits to cast his ballot Thursday north of Cairo. The vote is considered Egypt's first free and fair presidential election in modern history.
An Egyptian man drops off his ballot at a polling station Thursday in Cairo. The voting marks the first time Egypt has held a presidential election in which the results aren't known beforehand.
An Egyptian woman holds up an ink-stained finger after casting her ballot in Cairo on Wednesday, May 23, the first day of voting in the historic election.
A voter studies her ballot Wednesday in Cairo. Thirteen candidates are competing in the wide-open race, but two withdrew after ballots were printed.
Egyptian men fill out their ballots Wednesday in Cairo. Results of the first round of voting are not expected before the weekend.
An Egyptian man casts his ballot at a Cairo polling station. Some Egyptians told CNN that they waited up to four hours Wednesday to vote.
Egyptian men shield themselves from the hot sun outside a Cairo polling station Wednesday.
Egyptian men line up to cast their vote Wednesday in Cairo. Some 30,000 volunteers fanned out to ensure voting is fair, said organizers with the April 6 youth movement, which has campaigned for greater democracy in Egypt.
Egyptian men fill out their ballots at a Cairo polling place.
Presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahy, a leftist dark-horse contender, flashes a sign of victory as he waits to vote at a Cairo school.
Presidential candidate Abdelmonen Abol Fotoh, a moderate Islamist, casts his ballot Wednesday in Cairo.
An Egyptian Coptic nun drops her ballot at a Cairo polling station Wednesday.
Egyptian women wait outside a polling station in Cairo. Many Egyptians seem uncertain of their loyalties to any particular candidate.
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