Presidential election Live Blog

Mohamed Eissa, a supporter of presidential candidate, Hazem Abu Ismail, tells Reuters:

"If they continue to insist on the disqualification of these candidates, we fear anger of the street. Because

these people have great support on the street. And these people entered the race through proper legal decisions. And now, they are abrogating the court's decision, and cancelling the judiciary. The person who presided in the ruling about the citizenship of the mother of Sheikh Hazem Abu Ismail, is the deputy head of the State Court - the second highest court after the Constitutional Court. And with regards to Khairat al-Shater - now, they are trying to say that the case against him under Mubarak was correct. But he was excluded under Mubarak, and oppressed. So if that's the case, then we are still being ruled by Mubarak."

A sheikh who blends hardline Islamism with revolutionary zeal is emerging as a frontrunner in the race for the Egyptian presidency, buoyed by a popular touch which even his critics say is striking a chord with many voters.

Hazem Salah Abu Ismail's message has moved from the mosque to the masses in the year since Hosni Mubarak was swept from power, helped by a campaign which to date appears one of the best funded. His posters are everywhere, put up by dedicated supporters to whom he is both a celebrity and visionary.

"This man knows how to speak to people in their own language," said Aladin Nounou, a factory owner who says most of his 600 workers count themselves as Abu Ismail admirers [Reuters].

Here are some statistics on Yemen elections:

10,243,364  eligible registered voters in the elections
 
6,660,039 voters took part in the elections
 
6,635,192 people voted for Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
 
15,970 did not vote for Hadi
 
8027 -  votes were void
 
Hadi got 99.8 per cent of the vote.

Hadi will be sworn in on Saturday and will take over power on the same day and there will also be a ceremonial event on Monday.

UN envoy Jamal Benomar cautioned that Tuesday's polls in Yemen are the first step towards a difficult process resulting from a negotiated political settlement that averted civil war in the country.

"This is the beginning of a difficult and thorny road, but there is hope," Benomar told AFP in an interview.

Yemenis voted in referendum-like polls to endorse Vice President Abdrabuh Hadi to lead the country during a two-year interim period, based on the deal Benomar played a leading role in hammering out. [AFP]