This year's elections in Egypt are the country's first contested presidential election.
77-year-old leader who has ruled Egypt for the last 24 years, Hosni Mubarak, is widely expected to win though he is for the first time challenged by nine other candidates.

Among his challengers is Ayman Nour of the Ghad party who has emerged as something of a thorn in the side of the government, whose detention earlier this year earned Egypt public criticism from the US.

The other serious competitor to Hosni Mubarak, Nomaan Gomaa, heads Al Wafd, the once influent party that fought for independence from Britain, but has now been weakened by decades of autocratic rule.

As only these two of the other nine candidates are being taken seriously, according to BBC's Heba Saleh in Cairo," why bother and vote?" seems to be a question on everybody's mind.

Michael C. Dunn, editor of The Middle East Journal, publication of the Middle East Institute, underlines the fact: "because of the nature of the elections - the high bar for independent candidates, which virtually prevents their running, and the restrictions on who may run from a recognized party, which prevents Muslim Brotherhood candidates from standing under another party banner - many dismiss the whole exercise. It is certainly not a competitive race in any normal sense"

Furthermore, a court said on Tuesday that organizers could stop independent groups from monitoring the vote inside booths and an advanced ruling by Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court overturned last week's decision by a lower court: international monitors are not being allowed to observe the elections either.

Anyway, about 10,000 polling stations opened at 0800 local time (0500 GMT) and will close at 2200 (1900 GMT) and the Egyptians find themselves in the middle of the first elections closer to democracy.

If no candidate polls 50%, the two with the highest number of votes proceed to round two.
There are over 32 million registered voters out of a population of about 75 million; Egyptians over 18 are required to vote by law.
The president is to be elected for a six year term.