Egypt has produced some good headlines over the few millennia of its existence: There's its rise as the center of Arab and Islamic culture, the building of the pyramids, and even, reportedly, a spat between a pharaoh and a hard-luck local tribe that produced some nasty plagues. But there's one story that has always eluded it: the drama of a competitive presidential election. On May 23, that all ends.
In a culmination of the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year, Egyptians are set to go to the polls to elect a new president. The path to this point hasn't been easy: Egypt has struggled through protests against the country's military rulers that devolved into violence, polarizing debates over the role of religion in politics, and even the resurgence of Mubarak's most feared domestic enforcer.
The candidates vying to replace Mubarak are a hodgepodge of Islamists, members of the ancien régime, and even an adherent to the political philosophy of former President Gamal Abdel Nasser. In this photo essay, acclaimed photojournalist Kate Brooks provides FP readers with an inside look at the front-runners and their entourages on the campaign stump. For the first time in Egypt's history, it's anyone's guess who will come out on top. Let the games begin.
Above, Amr Moussa greets his supporters at a rally.
Kate Brooks for FP
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