Taking the vote: elections in Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo

Hours after violent clashes between masses of protesters and police, Egyptians swarmed the polls early this week for the beginning rounds of parliamentary elections. They are the first elections since a prodemocracy uprising ousted longtime president Hosni Mubarak from office earlier this year. The poll stations have been remarkably peaceful, despite the simmering anger over the military’s extended role in running the government. In contrast, the Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential and legislative elections this week were beset by fraud, some observers say. In one town, rebel fighters attacked a polling place, killing at least five people and burning ballots. The voting was Congo's second since the end of the country's last war and the first organized by the government rather than the international community.


01. A man waits outside a polling station to cast his vote during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 28. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)


02. An old man casts his vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 28. Egyptians lined up to vote in the first big test of a transition born in popular revolutionary euphoria that soured into distrust of the generals who replaced their leader, Hosni Mubarak. (Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters)


03. An Egyptian voter passes between the hands of soldiers guarding at a polling center Nov. 28 in Cairo, Egypt. Voting began on Monday in Egypt's first parliamentary elections since longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising nine months ago. The vote is a milestone many Egyptians hope will usher in a democratic age after decades of dictatorship. (Amr Nabil/Associated Press)


04. In a combination image made from six photos, Egyptian women pose with their inked fingers after voting at a polling station in Cairo Nov. 29. Long lines formed at polling stations for a second day of voting and the head of the election commission, Abdel-Mooaez Ibrahim, proclaimed turnout so far had been "massive and unexpected." But he did not give figures. (Bela Szandelszky/Associated Press)


05. An old man is carried by a volunteer after casting his vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 28. (Amr Abdallah/Reuters)


06. A woman reads a ballot paper before casting her vote at a polling station during the parliamentary election in Alexandria Nov. 29. (Mohamed Abd El-Ghany/Reuters)


07. An Egyptian woman looks at voters as they line up outside a polling station in the Shubra district of Cairo on Nov. 28. Post-revolution Egypt headed to the polls for a chaotic election clouded by violence and a political crisis, the start of a long process to bring democracy to the Arab world's most populous nation. (Mohammed Hossam/AFP/Getty Images)


08. Egyptian soldiers stand guard at the entrance of a school turned polling station as voters gather in the Ain Shams district of Cairo on Nov. 28. (Amro Maraghi/AFP/Getty Images)


09. Egyptian voters waited at a school turned polling station in old Cairo on Nov. 28. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)


10. A woman carrying her child reads a ballot paper before casting her vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 29. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)


11. A man stood in front of banners supporting candidates for the parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 28. (Goran Tomasevic /Reuters)


12. Egyptian women vote at a polling station in the town of Ibshawai, near Fayoum, 100 km (62 miles) southwest of Cairo Nov. 29. Polls opened Tuesday for a second day of voting in Egypt's landmark parliamentary elections, the first since Hosni Mubarak's ouster in a popular uprising earlier this year. (Tara Todras-Whitehill/Associated Press)


13. A Egyptian woman casts her ballot in Maadi, a suburb of Cairo Nov. 28. Voting began on Monday in Egypt's first parliamentary elections since longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising nine months ago. The vote is a milestone many Egyptians hope will usher in a democratic age after decades of dictatorship. (Tara Todras-Whitehill/Associated Press)


14. People line up at a polling station as they wait to cast their votes during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 28. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)


15. People gathered outside a polling station to vote in the parliamentary election in Shubra neighborhood of Cairo Nov. 2. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)


16. Egyptian soldiers stand guard as voters leave a polling station in Cairo Nov. 29. Polls opened Tuesday for a second day of voting in Egypt's landmark parliamentary elections. (Bela Szandelszky/Associated Press)


17. Egyptian women look at a ballot paper at a polling station in the Sahel district of Cairo Nov. 28. Post-revolution Egypt headed to the polls for a chaotic election clouded by violence and a political crisis, the start of a long process to bring democracy to the Arab world's most populous nation. (Mohammed Hossam/AFP/Getty Images)


18. Egyptian elections officials burn wax to stamp a ballot box before sending it to a counting center in Cairo Nov. 29. Polls opened Tuesday for a second day of voting in Egypt's landmark parliamentary elections, the first since Hosni Mubarak's ouster in a popular uprising earlier this year. The Arabic on the box reads, "parliamentary elections." (Amr Nabil/Asociated Press)


19. A Congolese man walks through ballots Nov. 29 claimed to be fake by opposition supporters and then shredded and burned in a school used as a polling station in the Bandal commune in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, one day after the country went to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections. The vote is only the second since the end of Congo's last war, and the first to be organized by the government instead of the international community. The election was supposed to mark another step toward peace, but if the results are not accepted by the population, especially the country's fractured opposition, analysts fear it could drag Congo back into conflict. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)


20. An election witness is refused access to a voting center at the Twalemishe school in Kamalondo district of Lubumbashi on Nov. 29. Monitors reported widespread fraud in Democratic Republic of Congo elections and presidential rivals demanded an annulment as votes were counted Tuesday in polling marred by deadly violence. (Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images)


21. Congolese women, one using a light, go through the ballot for parliamentary elections at a polling station in the Masina district of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo Nov. 28. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)


22. Ballot papers burned in an attack on two pick-up trucks lie on the roadside in Lubumbashi on Nov. 28. A convoy of 8 vehicles were carrying papers at 3am this morning when they were attacked by a group of armed men in the capital of the mineral rich province of Katanga. (Phil Moore /AFP/Getty Images)


23. Members of Congo's presidential guard walk through heavy rain ahead of incumbent Joseph Kabila (not seen) as he leaves a polling station after voting in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, Nov. 28. Voting began slowly on Monday in Congo's second-post war election, held despite fears logistical problems and irregularities would undermine the result. (Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters)


24. Supporters of opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi parade what they claim are badly printed fraudulent photocopies of election ballots they say they found in the Bandal commune in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo Nov. 28. Polls opened in Congo's capital as the government of this nation pummeled by war vowed to go ahead with its much-anticipated presidential and parliamentary election despite massive logistical challenges. As day broke on Monday, a trickle gathered outside polling stations as residents waited to take part in a presidential and legislative election that could further consolidate the country's peace, or else drag it back into conflict. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)


25. Young Congolese men check their names against the list of registered voters at the Jean Calvin College voting centre in Lubumbashi Nov. 27, the eve of DR Congo's elections. The National Electoral Commission has registered over 32 million people to vote, choosing between over 18,000 parliamentary candidates nation-wide. (Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images)


26. A voting official sits in the Njanja polling station in Lubumbashi Nov. 29. Monitors reported widespread fraud in Democratic Republic of Congo elections and presidential rivals demanded an annulment as votes were counted in polling marred by deadly violence. (Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images)


27. Piles of ballot papers sit during vote counting at the Twalemishe school polling station in Kamalondo district of Lubumbashi on Nov. 29. (Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images)


28. A man navigates a maze of tape as he checks his name against voter registration lists at the EP 1 Imara Voting Station in Lubumbashi Nov. 27. This is one of the largest voting centers in the Democratic Republic of Congo's second largest city, and officials here expect large queues tomorrow morning as voting opens on what will be the country's second democratic elections in four decades. (Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images)


29. A voter shouts at an election official at the Njanja polling station in Lubumbashi Nov. 29. The polling station was attacked by seven armed gunmen yesterday, who burned all of the ballot papers, including those already cast. Monitors reported widespread fraud in Democratic Republic of Congo elections and presidential rivals demanded an annulment as votes were counted in polling marred by deadly violence. (Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images)


30. A pile of presidential and legislative ballot papers sit unattended on the ground of a compound outside a polling station in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa Nov. 29. First results emerged from the Democratic Republic of Congo's chaotic elections on Tuesday but some voters were still casting their ballots in a vote tainted by confusion, violence and allegations of fraud. (Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters)

Egypt erupts with fresh protests

Protesters unhappy with the pace of change and the continued military rule in Egypt flooded Cairo's Tahrir Square over the weekend demanding civilian rule. Riot police responded with tear gas, beatings, and live ammunition, leaving at least 20 dead in continuing clashes. Egypt holds parliamentary elections next week, and demonstrators want presidential elections to be held shortly afterward. The ruling military has proposed to delay those elections until late 2012 or even 2013, angering Egyptians frustrated with the military's role in government. Collected here are images of the struggle over the weekend. -- Lane Turner (24 photos total)
1. Protesters run from tear gas fired by riot police in a side street near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 21, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)



2. Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters wave national flags during a rally held in Cairo's Tahrir Square on November 18, 2011 with the aim of pushing Egypt's ruling military to cede power, 10 months after an uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's regime. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)


3. Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters flood Tahrir Square in Cairo on November 18, 2011. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)


4. Riot police run toward protesters during clashes in a side street near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 21, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)


5. A protester clashes with riot police at Tahrir Square in Cairo November 19, 2011. Riot police on Saturday cleared the square of protesters who had camped overnight after a rally of some 50,000 people, mainly Islamists, pressed Egypt's military rulers to transfer power swiftly to a civilian government. Around 100 protesters had stayed in the square, where police pulled down tents and confiscated chairs and banners they had set up, Reuters' witnesses said. Some minor scuffles occurred. (Mohamed Abd El-Ghany/Reuters)


6. Egyptian riot police clash with protesters at Tahrir Square in Cairo November 19, 2011. (Mohamed Abd El-Ghany/Reuters)


7. A protester throws a tear gas canister, which had earlier been thrown by riot police, near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 20, 2011. Protesters demanding an end to army rule and angered by rough police tactics battled with police on Sunday, presenting Egypt's ruling generals with their biggest security challenge yet, a week before parliamentary elections. Two people were killed and hundreds wounded in clashes on Saturday night reminiscent of some of the worst violence during the 18-day uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in February. (Mohamed Abd El-Ghany/Reuters)


8. Protesters help their fellow protester, who is affected by tear gas, during clashes with riot police near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 20, 2011. (Asmaa Waguih/Reuters)


9. Protesters chant slogans and carry a giant Egyptian flag during clashes with riot police in Tahrir Square in Cairo November 20, 2011. (Mohamed Abd El-Ghany/Reuters)


10. A wounded protester is treated at a field hospital during clashes with Egyptian riot police in Tahrir Square in Cairo November 20, 2011. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)


11. A wounded protester is rushed to a field hospital near Tahrir Square during clashes with Egyptian riot police in Cairo November 20, 2011. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)


12. Men mourn next to the body of a protester at a field hospital near Tahrir Square, after he was killed during clashes with Egyptian riot police in Cairo November 20, 2011. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)


13. A wounded protester holds spent ammunition at a field hospital near Tahrir Square, during clashes with Egyptian riot police, in Cairo November 20, 2011. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)


14. A protester has his eyes washed with milk to protect against tear gas during clashes with police in Cairo November 21, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)


15. A protester climbs a burning building to rescue residents trapped by fire during clashes with police in Cairo November 21, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)


16. Protesters help people climb down a burning building during clashes with police on a road which leads to the Interior Ministry near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 21, 2011. Egypt's Health Ministry said on Monday that the death toll in clashes between protesters and security forces in Cairo's Tahrir Square reached 20 people. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)


17. A protester sits in a broken window at a damaged building belonging to The American University in Cairo as he watches the clashes near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 21, 2011. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)


18. Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters perform the Friday prayer during a rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square on November 18, 2011 with the aim of pushing Egypt's ruling military to cede power. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)


19. Protesters prepare to throw Molotov cocktails during clashes with riot police in a side street near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 21, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)


20. Protesters take cover behind a makeshift barricade and a burnt car as riot police fire tear gas and rubber-covered bullets in a side street near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 21, 2011. Cairo's main morgue at Zainhum hospital has received 33 corpses from those killed in clashes between protesters and security forces, medical sources said on Monday. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)


21. Protesters run away from riot police firing tear gas and rubber-covered bullets in a side street near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 21, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)


22. Protesters carry a man injured during clashes with riot police in a side street near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 21, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)


23. Protesters run from riot police firing tear gas and rubber-covered bullets in a side street near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 21, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)


24. A protester throws stones at riot police during clashes in a side street near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 21, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)