17 June 2012 Last updated at 00:30 ET
Correspondents say there is a lower turnout than in previous rounds of voting
Continue reading the main story
Egyptians will go to the polls for a second and final day of voting to elect their first president since Hosni Mubarak was forced from office in 2011.
Islamist candidate Mohammed Mursi is up against former Mubarak official Ahmed Shafiq in a second-round run-off.
The vote also comes amid a bitter row over the dissolution of parliament following a court ruling on Thursday.
Mr 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 on Saturday.
Two days earlier, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that last year's legislative polls were unconstitutional, in a decision made by judges appointed under Mr Mubarak.
The dispute has laid bare the fears of some that the military council is trying to consolidate power and resist the democratic changes demanded during last year's demonstrations.
Continue reading the main story[h=2]Mohammed Mursi[/h]
'People's will'Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, is facing Ahmed Shafiq, former President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister.
Mr Shafiq has campaigned on a platform of a return to stability and law-and-order which, correspondents say, many find attractive after months of political turmoil.
But to his critics, the former air force officer is the army's unofficial candidate and a symbol of the autocratic days under Mubarak.
Mr Mursi, meanwhile, has cast himself as a revolutionary and part of the movement that overthrew Mubarak, and has promised economic and political reform.
He has also softened his religious stance to attract liberals and minorities, although not all remain convinced by his intentions.
His Freedom and Justice Party won almost half of seats in the legislature in the 2011 polls.
The BBC's Jon Leyne says that there is less enthusiasm in the run-off election than there was for previous rounds of voting, and some have called for a boycott or spoiled ballots.
Our correspondent says that the lack of young people voting on Saturday was particularly noticeable.
Continue reading the main story[h=2]Ahmed Shafiq[/h]
While state TV has been urging people to vote, some activists have been distributing flyers in several Cairo metro stations calling for a boycott.
On Saturday, the top official in parliament, Sami Mahran, said he had received a letter from the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) confirming for the first time that the lower house, the People's Assembly, had been dissolved.
In response, the Muslim Brotherhood said the move was a "coup against the whole democratic process".
"We are asking for the people to be the ones who decide that the parliament gets dissolved, as such a decision should be taken by the people's will and not the executive authority," FJP deputy leader Essam el-Erian told Reuters.
The move followed Thursday's supreme court ruling that the law governing Egypt's first democratic elections in more than six decades was unconstitutional because party members were allowed to contest seats in the lower house reserved for independents.
Scaf officials have told state media that it now plans to issue a new interim constitution and potentially select a replacement constitutional panel itself.
The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) has vowed to hand over power to the winner by 30 June.
But the decision to dissolve parliament so swiftly means that the new president could take office without the oversight of a sitting parliament and without a permanent constitution to define his powers or duties.
On Saturday afternoon, Mr Mursi's campaign held a news conference in which it said several electoral violations had been reported, and urged voters to report any incidents.
Mr Shafiq came second in last month's first round, in which turnout among the 52 million eligible voters was only 46%. Official results gave Mr Mursi 24.8% and Mr Shafiq 23.7%.
Final results from the Higher Presidential Election Commission (HPEC) are due by 21 June, but are expected to arrive much earlier.
Continue reading the main story
Egyptians will go to the polls for a second and final day of voting to elect their first president since Hosni Mubarak was forced from office in 2011.
Islamist candidate Mohammed Mursi is up against former Mubarak official Ahmed Shafiq in a second-round run-off.
The vote also comes amid a bitter row over the dissolution of parliament following a court ruling on Thursday.
Mr 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 on Saturday.
Two days earlier, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that last year's legislative polls were unconstitutional, in a decision made by judges appointed under Mr Mubarak.
The dispute has laid bare the fears of some that the military council is trying to consolidate power and resist the democratic changes demanded during last year's demonstrations.
Continue reading the main story[h=2]Mohammed Mursi[/h]
- Aged 60
- US-educated engineering professor
- Head of Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP)
- Served as independent MP 2000-05
- Quietly spoken, viewed by some as lacking charisma
- Has promised "stability, security, justice and prosperity" under an Islamic banner
'People's will'Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, is facing Ahmed Shafiq, former President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister.
Mr Shafiq has campaigned on a platform of a return to stability and law-and-order which, correspondents say, many find attractive after months of political turmoil.
But to his critics, the former air force officer is the army's unofficial candidate and a symbol of the autocratic days under Mubarak.
Mr Mursi, meanwhile, has cast himself as a revolutionary and part of the movement that overthrew Mubarak, and has promised economic and political reform.
He has also softened his religious stance to attract liberals and minorities, although not all remain convinced by his intentions.
His Freedom and Justice Party won almost half of seats in the legislature in the 2011 polls.
The BBC's Jon Leyne says that there is less enthusiasm in the run-off election than there was for previous rounds of voting, and some have called for a boycott or spoiled ballots.
Our correspondent says that the lack of young people voting on Saturday was particularly noticeable.
Continue reading the main story[h=2]Ahmed Shafiq[/h]
- Aged 70
- Veteran fighter pilot and former air force chief
- Appointed Egypt's first aviation minister, earning reputation for competence and efficiency
- Promoted to PM during February 2011 protests
- Associated with Mubarak regime, though denies being backed by ruling military council
- Campaigned on a promise to restore security
While state TV has been urging people to vote, some activists have been distributing flyers in several Cairo metro stations calling for a boycott.
On Saturday, the top official in parliament, Sami Mahran, said he had received a letter from the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) confirming for the first time that the lower house, the People's Assembly, had been dissolved.
In response, the Muslim Brotherhood said the move was a "coup against the whole democratic process".
"We are asking for the people to be the ones who decide that the parliament gets dissolved, as such a decision should be taken by the people's will and not the executive authority," FJP deputy leader Essam el-Erian told Reuters.
The move followed Thursday's supreme court ruling that the law governing Egypt's first democratic elections in more than six decades was unconstitutional because party members were allowed to contest seats in the lower house reserved for independents.
Scaf officials have told state media that it now plans to issue a new interim constitution and potentially select a replacement constitutional panel itself.
The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) has vowed to hand over power to the winner by 30 June.
But the decision to dissolve parliament so swiftly means that the new president could take office without the oversight of a sitting parliament and without a permanent constitution to define his powers or duties.
On Saturday afternoon, Mr Mursi's campaign held a news conference in which it said several electoral violations had been reported, and urged voters to report any incidents.
Mr Shafiq came second in last month's first round, in which turnout among the 52 million eligible voters was only 46%. Official results gave Mr Mursi 24.8% and Mr Shafiq 23.7%.
Final results from the Higher Presidential Election Commission (HPEC) are due by 21 June, but are expected to arrive much earlier.