Abu Dhabi: Egyptians in the UAE welcomed the results of what they called the first free, fair presidential elections.
Ahmad Hamdi Mohammad Radwan, a restaurant manager, said Egypt’s presidential elections was “an extremely important step in building its emerging democracy which will lead the region”.
Radwan hopes President elect [Mohammad] Mursi will honour the pledges in his final campaign speech to be an inclusive president who would include all Egyptians — all forces, presidential candidates, women, Salafis and our Coptic brothers”.
Ala’a Al Deen Al Saeed, a mechanical engineer, did not anticipate a winner as the two candidates won almost an equal share of votes.
“However, all Egyptians have accepted the results of the election which were fair and free. What makes me happy is that young people will lead the country to a bright future and a democracy all Egyptians have been yearning for since a long time.”
Engineer Mohammad Al Sawwaf echoed these sentiments and said he wanted the political games to end and the democracy people fought so hard for to begin so that the economy stabilises.
Al Sawwaf added that Egyptians have been anticipating this moment for a long time — it has been 18 months since the January Revolution forced former president Hosni Mubarak to step down.
Mahmoud Abu Sharif, an account executive in a PR company, said Egyptians deserve a democracy after enduring 60 years of a military dictatorship.
