The two-day vote that opened on May 26, 2014, is to replace Mohamed Mursi, who was deposed last year by the military.

Over 53 million Egyptian voters yesterday, May 26, 2014, began casting ballots to choose a new President for the second time in two years amid a huge security operation to prevent any attempts by Islamic militants to disrupt the two-day vote, the BBC reported. The election is being boycotted by the Moslem Brotherhood of deposed President Mohamed Mursi and other political groups.

Former Army Chief, retired Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sissi is standing against left-wing candidate, 60-year-old Hamdeen Sabahi. Shortly after polls opened, al-Sissi, 59, cast his vote at a polling station in the capital, Cairo amid a throng of reporters and spectators. He is forecast to win by a comfortable margin.

The official results are to be announced on June 5, 2014. At stake in the election is the restoration of security and revival of the economy after 10 months of chaos that followed the overthrow of Mursi.

Over 400,000 security forces and about 182,000 soldiers have been deployed to secure polling stations. The Presidential Electoral Commission that is overseeing the vote - whose results are not subject to appeals - has set up over 25,000 voting stations that are manned by about 16,000 judges. Carter Centre representatives are among a number of international observers monitoring the polls, including the European Union.

Former US President, Jimmy Carter, who chairs the Carter Centre, called on the next leader to "take immediate steps to foster dialogue and political accommodation to ensure that the full spectrum of Egyptian society can participate meaningfully in politics." Mohamed Mursi, who was deposed last July by al-Sissi following mass protests, is standing trial on various charges which he strongly denies.

According to a tally issued on May 25, 2014 by the Egyptian Centre for Social and Economic Rights, more than 41,000 people have either been charged or detained since the July 2013 coup. Majority of them are Mursi supporters, while liberals who grew critical of the new regime are also involved. Hundreds of protesters have been killed in the last 10 months in clashes with security forces. Egypt's next President will be the eighth since the overthrow of the monarchy in 1953.