Muslim Brotherhood claims Egypt election lead
The Muslim Brotherhood quickly staked a claim for its candidate to advance to a run-off vote in Egypt's, landmark presidential election, saying its exit polls showed him leading.
As vote-counting began, exit polls by several Arab television stations also suggested the Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi was ahead of the pack of 13 candidates.
The reliability of the various exit surveys was not known and a few hours after the end of two days of voting, only a tiny percentage of the ballots had been counted.
But the swiftness of the Brotherhood's claim showed its eagerness to plant its flag and establish in the public eye that Mr Morsi had at least won entry into a second round vote.
There are five prominent candidates, but none is expected to win outright in the first round. A run-off between the two leading contenders would be held on June 16 and 17.
The first truly competitive presidential election in Egypt's history turned into a heated battle between Islamist candidates and secular figures rooted in Hosni Mubarak's old regime.
The most polarising figures in the race were Mr Morsi and former air force commander and ex-prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, a veteran of ousted Mr Mubarak's rule.
The Brotherhood is hoping for a presidential victory to seal its political domination of Egypt, which would be a dramatic turnaround from the decades it was repressed under Mr Mubarak. It already holds nearly half of parliament after victories in elections late last year.
The group has promised a "renaissance" of Egypt, not only reforming Mubarak-era corruption and reviving decrepit infrastructure, but also bringing a greater degree of rule by Islamic law.
That prospect has alarmed more moderate Muslims, secular Egyptians and the Christian minority, who fear restrictions on civil rights and worry that the Brotherhood shows similar domineering tendencies to Mr Mubarak.
"I think we are on the verge of a new era. We trusted God, we trusted in the people, we trusted in our party," prominent Brotherhood figure Essam el-Erian said at a news conference at which the group claimed its lead.
Mr Morsi's campaign spokesman, Murad Mohammed Ali, cited exit polls conducted by Brotherhood campaign workers nationwide, though he declined to give percentages for Mr Morsi's lead.
Regional television channels, citing their own exit polls, also placed Mr Morsi as the top finisher, with a tussle for second place between Mr Shafiq, moderate Islamist Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh and left-winger Hamdeen Sabahi.
Across the country, election workers cracked open the transparent ballot boxes - sealed by serial-numbered plastic bands - and began working their way through the paper ballots.
By 1am today, four hours after polls closed, results from about 5% of the 13,000 polling stations emerged, putting Mr Morsi on top at 35%, followed by Mr Shafiq with 22% and Mr Abolfotoh with 16%.
Reports of voting violations seemed relatively limited. The Egyptian Association for Supporting Democratic Development reported fist-fights between rival supporters and some incidents of money being given to voters.
It also reported some attempts to influence voters at the polls, including women wearing the all-covering veil campaigning for Mr Morsi inside polling centres.
