U.S. hails Egypt turnout, UK says vote a milestone

by Edmund Blair

CAIRO - The U.S. ambassador to Cairo congratulated Egypt on what seemed a large turnout at the start of the first parliamentary election since Hosni Mubarak was ousted and Britain described the vote as a milestone, in the first reaction to voting by major powers.

Last week's clashes between police and protesters demanding an immediate end to military rule which convulsed Cairo and other cities had raised fears of violence during the vote.

The vote in the Arab world's most populous country is being closely watched in Western and other capitals as popular uprisings have swept through the region.

"I'd like to congratulate the Egyptian people on what appeared to be a very large turnout on this very historic occasion," U.S. envoy Anne Patterson said in Cairo.

Her comments were made during a visit to a rights organization and were relayed by the U.S. embassy.

"Whoever wins, that is a choice of the Egyptian people. The government of the United States will work with whomever the people of Egypt choose to represent them. We are encouraged by Egypt's election process," she said.

The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists are expected to do well in the vote. U.S. officials in Cairo have held meetings with the Brotherhood since Washington announced in June it would launch direct contacts, a move that marked a shift in policy.

The U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in Washington on Monday that early reports on the vote were "quite positive".

The United States has given Egypt's military billions of dollars in aid since Egypt, in 1979, became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel.

Britain's ambassador to Cairo, James Watt, described the election as an "important milestone in Egypt's democratic transition."

"My staff have been to a number of polling stations today and witnessed votes being cast in a peaceful, orderly and good-natured manner," he said in a statement to Reuters.

"These elections are only at their start, but so far, they seem to have run smoothly," he said.