Egyptians begin voting today in the first round of an election to replace deposed President Mubarak.

Millions of Egyptians go to the polls beginning today Wednesday May 23 in two days of voting to elect a new president following the overthrow in February 2011 of Hosni Mubarak. Field Marshall Muhammad Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, has been acting Head of State ever since.

If there is no outright winner at the close of polling, a second round of voting will be organised on June 16 and 17 between the two leading candidates. Today’s election is the second presidential poll in Egypt's history with more than one candidate since 2005. It is also the first presidential poll after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution during the Arab Spring. A total of 23 candidates registered to contest, 13 were retained but one has since withdrawn.

The front runners are believed to be Amr Moussa, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Ahmed Shafik, Mohammed Morsi and Hamdeen Sabahi; in descending order of popularity. A diplomat turned politician, Amr Moussa is running as an independent candidate. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs and later head of the Arab League. Moussa is for the equality and integration of all Egyptians regardless of religion or location and argues that Upper Egypt needs to be rapidly brought onto an equal footing with Cairo and Alexandria. He also seeks to reform but not dismantle the State Security agency, advocates the empowerment of women and youth and proposes the amendment of the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and opening Egypt’s border with Gaza.

Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, is running as an independent candidate. A pediatrician and political activist, Moneim is also the Secretary General of the Arab Medical Union. He stresses the importance of religion and democracy and emphasizes the necessity for increased integration between Muslims and non-Muslims, stands for the guaranteed protection of minorities and supports free trade and private enterprise alongside government playing a role to ensure social justice. He has promised to name a woman or a Coptic Christian as Vice President. He also advocates an end to military trials of civilians and the retrial in civilian courts of those convicted in military courts since the revolution.

Ahmed Shafik, an independent, graduated from the Egyptian Air Force Academy in 1961 and served as a fighter pilot in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War under the then Air Force Commander, Hosni Mubarak. Shafik supports the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and says he prefers to focus on practical work that provides solutions to specific problems.