At Last, Egypt Holds Presidential Election

Long lines formed in Egypt today for what promises to be the first non-rigged election in the country's long history. Voting will take place today and tomorrow at 13,000 polling places across the country, and turnout is expected to be high. About 150,000 troops are out to guard the polls, according to the Telegraph, and so far things have been mostly calm, save for one gunfight in Cairo between supporters of rival candidates. One policeman was killed in the fight, and another person injured, the AFP reports.

Results should be announced Sunday. If none of the 13 candidates wins a simple majority, a run-off will take place June 16 and 17, according to Reuters. There's no reliable polling, but favored candidates appear to include Mubarak-era foreign minister Amr Moussa, Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi, and former Islamist Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, al-Jazeera reports. Some revolutionaries unhappy with those choices are boycotting the vote. But "if you boycott now, when will you participate?" asked one voter. "This is something we've never had before … an election where we don't know who will win." (More Egypt stories.)