Tuesday 29 November 2011

Egypt elections and Arab Spring: live

Live rolling coverage from around the Middle East as Egyptians vote in the second day of the election since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptians stand in line at a polling station as they wait to cast their votes during the parliamentary elections in Cairo November 29, 2011 Photo: REUTERS

By Barney Henderson and Andy Bloxham

8:30AM GMT 29 Nov 2011

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• Egyptians vote in historic first elections since fall of Mubarak
• Protesters in Tahrir Square boycot the vote
• Turkey says it could bypass Syria with Iraq trade route
• UN probe finds Syria guilty of crimes against humanity

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09.15 Zeinab Saad, 50, who brought her young daughter to a polling station in Cairo, said:

I am voting for this country's sake. We want a new beginning.

Its a great thing to feel like your vote matters.

08.59 Russia opposes the imposition of an arms embargo on Syria and believes the international community should stop threatening Damascus with ultimatums, local news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying today.

The U.N. Human Rights Council said on Monday that Syrian military and security forces had committed crimes against humanity including murder, torture and rape, and called for an arms embargo on Syria.

Russia teamed up with China last month to veto a Western-backed U.N. Security Council resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad's government for violence the United Nations says has killed more than 3,500 people.

08.22 Our Middle East correspondents Adrian Blomfield and Richard Spencer report on the first day of voting from Cairo:

Adrian Blomfield The lines of patient voters stretching along the banks of the Nile were a stark contrast to what passed for elections in the long years of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s toppled dictator.

Gender-segregated but calm and cheerful, they testified to the enthusiasm with which people embraced the country’s first credible parliamentary elections for more than half a century So high was the turn-out that election officials were forced to extend polling for two hours last night as millions seized the chance to cast their ballots.

There was no denying it was a momentous occasion, but the day - which passed peacefully, and without major incident — if anything seemed to lack the sense of history it demanded.

_{Egyptians stand in line at a polling station as they wait to cast their
votes during the parliamentary elections in Cairo}

07.56 Here is David Blair's piece from this morning's Telegraph on the UN report that found that at least 256 children have been killed in Syria:

The most authoritative inquiry into Syria's violence has uncovered "gross human rights violations" amounting to "crimes against humanity".

Geoffrey Robertson QC, a human rights lawyer, said the British Government should respond by urging Syria's referral to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council.

"That would be the next logical step short of armed intervention," he added. "It would send a chill up Assad's spine."

07.45 Egyptian polling stations opened for a second day this morning after a mostly smooth start and large turnout in the first election since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

Up to 40 million voters are being asked to choose a new parliament, in a three stage process that will end in January.

Monday's voting took place the main cities of Cairo and Alexandria and other areas. Despite some administrative delays, the day ended without major incident, the election commission said.

Polling booths closed on Monday at the extended time of 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) to enable thousands who waited for hours in long queues to cast their ballots.

The run-up to the vote was marred by protests and deadly clashes that had threatened to derail the whole process.

07.30 (09.30 Cairo) Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the second day of the Egyptian election and reaction to a UN report that found Syria guilty of crimes against humanity.

Previous Arab Spring live coverage: