Egyptians vote in final phase of landmark polls

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Egyptians were voting on Tuesday in the final round of a landmark post-revolution election that has propelled Islamist movements into the centre stage of politics.Around 15 million eligible voters have their chance to cast ballots for the first parliament since an uprising overthrew veteran president Hosni Mubarak last February.Small queues began to form outside polling stations which opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) in nine of the country s 27 provinces, including the Nile Delta, the south and the tourist resorts of South Sinai, with voting taking place over two days.Voters had to pass through metal detectors before entering polling stations in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, tourist mecca and site of Mubarak s second residence.The first two rounds of voting saw Egypt s main Islamist parties claim a crushing victory, mirroring a pattern in the region since the Arab Spring uprisings overthrew authoritarian secular regimes.The powerful Muslim Brotherhood, the country s best organised political movement which was widely expected to triumph in the polls, has claimed the lead through its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP).But the surge of Al-Nur, which represents the ultra-conservative Salafi brand of Islam, has raised fears among increasingly marginalised liberals about civil liberties and religious freedom.The Islamists victory has also raised concerns about the future of the country s lucrative tourism industry.