Egyptians vote for new leader

Cairo, June 17 (IANS) Egyptians were Sunday participating in the second round of the presidential election, the first since Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down from his position by an uprising last February.

The first round was held May 23-24.

On the final day of the election Sunday, soldiers had been stationed around the parliament with orders not to let MPs enter, BBC reported.

Pro-revolutionary groups meanwhile said they would stage a protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square Sunday night to keep up the pressure for reforms, the report added.

In the ongoing election, Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, is pitted against Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's last prime minister. Both individuals have vowed to restore stability and security in Egypt, RIA Novosti reported.

The country's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) is due to hand over power to the new president July 1.

The latest vote also comes amid a bitter row over the parliament's dissolution following a court ruling.

Two days earlier, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that last year's legislative polls were unconstitutional, in a decision made by judges appointed under Mubarak.

Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood has denounced the step as unlawful and a coup against democracy.

The movement urged Egyptians to protect their revolution after the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) declared the parliament null and void Saturday.