Egyptians voted in their first presidential election on Wednesday but President Hosni Mubarak's most prominent rival said widespread abuses undermined the credibility of the vote, which Mubarak is expected to win.
Voters headed to polling stations to chose between Mubarak and his nine rivals, most of them little-known leaders of political parties with few members, with the exception of two liberal candidates Ayman Nour and Noman Gomaa.
Several hundred demonstrators gathered in central Cairo to call for an election boycott but plainclothes men broke up the protest and beat up some activists. The government had banned demonstrations on Wednesday.
Mubarak, 77, has won office four times since 1981 through referendums in which he was the single candidate, chosen by a parliament dominated by the ruling National Democratic Party.
He changed the system this year after the United States and Egyptian protest groups pressed for reform.
The election enlivened political debate after decades of stagnation and brought criticism of Mubarak almost unthinkable a year ago. But the power structure remains the same and the opposition say they doubt Mubarak wants real political change.
The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, the main independent rights group, made the same allegation of buying votes but it was not possible to corroborate the reports.
Nour said: "They (the authorities) are exposing Egypt to destructive danger for the sake of these petty acts. It would have been wiser for Hosni Mubarak to win by a small margin or even lose, than that he should win in a forged ... way."
Gomaa's Wafd party said its delegates were stopped in Port Said, north-east of Cairo, and Assiut and Sohag to the south. At many polling stations, witnesses said delegates for Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) were the only ones present.
Observers from the independent monitoring group Shayfeencom said NDP organisers were bringing voters to polling stations in government cars and making them mark their ballot papers in public - both violations of the law.
The United States, which has been campaigning for democracy in the Middle East, said it had expressed concern to Cairo, which is friendly towards Washington and a major recipient of US aid, about the lack of international monitors.
Washington has also criticised Egypt for violence during the May referendum on holding the elections and at a later protest.
TURNOUT:
Several hundred demonstrators marched through central Cairo calling for a boycott of the vote, chanting "Down with Hosni Mubarak". Plainclothes men, who activists say were from the security forces, broke up the protest and beat some protesters.
The initial election turnout did not appear to be high. In some previous Egyptian elections or referendums, less than 10 percent of people have voted, judges and rights groups said.
Turnout estimates varied even in the same place. At one station in Cairo, the presiding judge said it was 4 percent but NDP official Amani Wahba said it was 80 percent. Mubarak is expected to win by a comfortable majority, partly because of his long experience in office and his control of the state. He is widely admired for keeping Egypt out of war.
Many Egyptians are not registered and some have dismissed the presidential election as a show for foreign consumption.
The rules exclude the moderate Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition group in the country, because the government has never let it form a political party.
The polling stations close at 10 pm (1900 GMT) and the result is expected on Friday or Saturday.
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