Mubarak wins landslide victory in presidential vote criticized by observers News
Mubarak wins landslide victory in presidential vote criticized by observers

[JURIST] Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak [official profile; Wikipedia profile] was re-elected to another six-year term in a landslide victory announced Friday following Wednesday's multi-candidate presidential vote, the first held in Egypt [JURIST news archive]. The Presidential Election Commission [BBC backgrounder] announced the widely expected result of the 10 candidate race. Turnout was low with only 23 percent of voters going to the polls, while reports were widespread of irregularities, often attributed to Mubarak's National Democratic Party. On Thursday, the election commission rejected a re-run request [JURIST report] by leading opposition candidate Ayman Nour [Wikipedia profile], who tallied just 7.5 percent of the vote compared to Mubarak's 88.6 percent. The election has been criticized by rights groups, with Mubarak's campaign accused of violations [JURIST report] and outside poll monitors barred [JURIST report] by an Egyptian court. BBC News has more.