Egypt elections enter second day of voting

After yesterday's first day of voting, Egyptians will continue voting today.  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.

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.

Shafiq, Mubarak's last prime minister, 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.

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 in an attempt to attract liberals and minorities.

His Freedom and Justice Party won almost half of seats in the legislature in the 2011 polls.

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".

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, Mursi's campaign held a news conference in which it said several electoral violations had been reported, and urged voters to report any incidents.

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.