Moderate Islamist leads in Egyptian expats' votes in UAE

Abu Dhabi: A moderate Islamist known for his staunch opposition to the Sadat and Mubarak regimes, vying with 12 others for Egypt's presidency, has taken the lead in votes cast by expatriates in the UAE, embassy officials said yesterday.

Abdul Moneim Abu Al Fotouh, a dissident from the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, secured 12,150 out of total valid 40,443 votes cast by the Egyptians in the UAE, according to ambassador Tamer Mansour.

Dr Abu Al Fotouh, a 60-year-old physician, who received 30 per cent of the total valid votes in the country, came first in the ballots cast in Abu Dhabi with 29 per cent of the valid votes and in Dubai with 31 per cent of the votes.

Dr Abu Al Fotouh, also known for his openness towards people of different political ideologies, had been a member of the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau from 1987 until 2009.

Dr Abu Al Fotouh also led in the votes counted in Britain, Germany and Russia, reported state Middle East News Agency.

In 2011, he formally quit all political work with the Muslim Brotherhood and resigned from its membership, following his decision to run for president. He is currently the secretary-general of the Arab Medical Union.

About 66 per cent of the registered to vote cast their absentee ballots in the UAE.

Around 61,000 out of more than 300,000 Egyptians living and working in the UAE were registered to cast ballots in the first free elections since Mubarak was ousted.

Egyptians at home are to go to polls on May 23-24 to elect their first president since a popular revolt toppled long-standing president Hosni Mubarak in February last year.

Hamdeen Sabahi, a left-leaning Arab nationalist candidate running as a Nasserist, who received nearly 22 per cent of the votes, came second with 8,742 votes.

The 57-year-old journalist's campaign has surged recently, drawing support from secularists who supported last year's uprising against Mubarak.

Amr Mousa, a former Egyptian diplomat and head of the Arab League, secured the third place and amassed 19 per cent of the votes.

However, Mousa and Sabahi exchanged places in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with the former Arab league chief securing the second place in Abu Dhabi with 3,750 votes or four votes more than Sabahi, while the latter secured the second place in Dubai with 4,996 votes, leading with 932 votes.

However, Mousa outrivaled Abu Al Fotouh in the Egyptians' votes in Lebanon with 32.6 per cent support against 21.1 per cent for the latter, mena quoted embassy officials as saying.

Muslim Brotherhood party leader Mohammad Morsi received about 18 per cent of expatriate votes, securing the fourth place in the UAE, but led the field among Egyptians voting in Yemen and Sudan.

Ahmad Shafiq, who served as last prime minister of deposed Presidenti Mubarak, placed fifth with just eight per cent of the expatriate vote in the UAE.

These results and those from other countries have yet to be officially announced by the Cairo-based presidential election commission.

Eligible voters among Egyptians living abroad are estimated at 586,000, according to official figures. They were given a week starting from May 11 to cast their ballots at Egypt's diplomatic missions for the first time ever in the presidential election.

The frontrunners are Abu Al Fotouh, Mousa, Morsi, Sabahi and Ahmad Shafiq, according to recent opinion polls conducted by local media.

Al Azhar, Egypt's influential Sunni seat of learning, on Friday urged Egyptians to vote in next week's polls, calling this a religious and national duty.

Egypt's military ruler Field Marshal Hussain Tantawi this week pledged to hold fair and free presidential election.