UN chief calls for 'peaceful' Egypt vote

UNITED NATIONS: UN leader Ban Ki-moon appealed for a "peaceful" presidential vote Saturday in Egypt amid heightened tensions around the campaign. Ban "notes the heightened debate and concerns among Egyptians about the implications of yesterday's decision of the Supreme Constitutional Court regarding the parliamentary electoral law," said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky on Friday. "The secretary general strongly hopes that the final round of the presidential elections will proceed in a peaceful and inclusive atmosphere," he added. Ahmed Shafiq, a former prime minister under strongman leader Hosni Mubarak, will take on Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi for the presidency. But the voting follows two controversial court rulings on Thursday, allowing Shafiq's candidacy to proceed despite his role in the old regime, and invalidating Egypt's elected parliament. Ban called the election "a very important part of the transition to greater democracy that the Egyptian people have struggled so patiently and so courageously to achieve." (AFP)