It hasn't gotten off to the best start, but free elections are relatively new. We should find out soon enough just how free the elections were. Al Jazeera:
Voters on Monday are choosing 168 of the 498 deputies, which will form the new lower house of parliament. The vote is only the first stage in an election timetable which lasts until March 2012 and covers two houses of parliament.
In this round, some of Egypt’s most populous areas will vote including Cairo, Alexandria, Assiut, Port Said and Luxor. Over 50 political parties are contesting the elections, along with thousands of candidates running as independents.
In some parts of the country, polling stations had not opened more than an hour after the time scheduled, as ballot papers and the ink used to mark voters' fingers had not arrived.
