THEY were promised a political feast, where for the first time in Egypt presidential hopefuls would slug it out on the campaign trail in a blast of Western-style democracy that would silence critics and inspire other Arab states.

But as three weeks of campaigning drew to a close yesterday, Egypt was suffering an anticlimax that could threaten its experiment in democracy.

True, voters will have a choice from ten candidates tomorrow. Each has a manifesto, most have given speeches and some even bothered to take their message across this country of 75 million.

Posters along Cairo’s main streets display the portraits of the main presidential hopefuls. Hosni Mubarak, looking half his 77 years, competes for space against his main rivals Ayman Nour, 41, a pudgy journalist turned politician, and Numan Gumaa, 71, leader of Egypt’s venerable al-Wafd party.

The run-up to the election has also set some important precedents. For the first time in President Mubarak’s quarter of a century in power he has had to endure open criticism of his record, with opponents accusing his regime of corruption, failing to tackle the country’s chronic economic problems, and devising a democratic system that appears guaranteed to secure his place at the top for another six years.

On Saturday Mr Nour wrapped up his energetic campaign by telling crowds in Tahrir Square in Cairo that Mr Mubarak’s rule had failed Egypt and that he should be removed.

At times Mr Mubarak, who has run this country unopposed for so long that most Egyptians have known no other leader, looked like a man fighting for every vote. In the four previous elections Egyptians were offered a simple “yes” or “no” on extending his mandate. In 1999, he secured a 94 per cent “yes” vote, a rating bettered in the region only by Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator.

Addressing a rally from Abdin Palace in Cairo, the President said he had given Egyptians security and stability in a volatile region.

He approached the elections “with a heart that is comfortable with what I have given so far to Egypt and its people and a conscience that is satisfied with the responsibility that I have borne with honour and honesty”, he said. “I embark upon the coming elections with strong faith in my ability to continue this giving and to bear the responsibility of the coming phase.”

The problem with the campaign is the lack of suspense about the result.

There are hardly any Egyptians, including Mr Mubarak’s nine presidential opponents, who do not think that he will win handsomely tomorrow. One candidate, Ahmad al-Sabahi Awad Allah Khalil, 90, whose policies include forcing men to wear fez hats, has admitted that he too will be voting for Mr Mubarak.

The Egyptian leader is a political giant backed by the dominant National Democratic Party. He can expect his supporters to deliver the votes of millions of government workers and others who depend on the regime for their livelihood.

Opposition candidates may have scored some points against him, but they remain political pygmies by comparison. Even if there were a serious challenge to Mr Mubarak, there is serious doubt that it would ever be reflected in the outcome of the vote. Foreign election observers have been banned and the domestic monitoring arrangements are woefully inadequate.

In addition, the main opposition Muslim Brotherhood, which is a real political force in the country, is banned in Egypt and so has no candidate.

The grassroots anti-Mubarak “Kefaya” [Enough] movement is boycotting the polls. George Ishaq, its leader, said: “We in the Kefaya movement will continue in our struggle, because we have not yet achieved our aims. In our judgment the presidential elections are a referendum in disguise and their legitimacy is in doubt, so we will continue until real elections.”

Nevertheless, even sceptics concede that the elections mark a new chapter in Egypt’s history, and that in the long term may yet lead to greater democracy — possibly as early as November when the country holds multi-party elections.

Ashraf Rady, a political analyst in Cairo, said: “It is very, very clear that Mubarak will be the winner. This is just the start of the democratic process. The main challenge will be to get the vote out.”

SPLIT VOTE

PROS:

Elections open the way for democratic process to choose Mubarak successor

CONS:

Huge media and funding advantage for Mubarak

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