Elections: 3

Some more photos from Wabuur al Maya as voting continues into the afternoon. Due to a late and somewhat disorganised start, polling stations will now remain open until midnight.
It is a little busier outside than before as more people finish work and new voters continue to pour in from the roundabout and sidestreets.

Below: some of the many groups distributing leaflets in the street today. There is a brief but explosive argument at the end of the road (two friends discovering one another's voting intentions, according to Noor, a girl I speak to outside that turns out to be a neighbour) - but it is quickly resolved.

The second image shows the family of one of the candidates; Zeina (below below) and Noor live around the corner from me and have been up since 5 o'clock this morning. Both study at the American school and speak near-perfect English.



As previously mentioned, red or blue ink on the tip of a finger is used to mark out those who have already voted. By the looks of things it rubs off pretty easily, which rather defeats the purpose, but I manage to catch a few people as they come away from the polling station:

Above: the daughter of an elderly man I spoke to who used to work on ships in Dover, and who finally returned to Egypt earlier this year; he agreed there had never been an election like this in his lifetime.

Below: our doorman (whose ink had long since rubbed off except on the nail but wanted to copy the gesture anyway)

Below below: a top boss on a motorbike leaving the scene.

Above: the rather comical row of anxious husbands and family members waiting on the other side of the road while the women vote. The men's polling station, apparently, is a few streets away.

One more for now - this child more or less encapsulates the current mood in Wabuur al Maya...