Timeline of Egypt's presidential elections

Egypt will vote for their fifth president since Egypt's monarchy was overthrown, but these are the free presidential elections in the country's history.

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July 1952: The Free Officers Movement, a group of army officers, overthrew Egypt's monarchy and established a new republic. The group appointed Mohammed Naguib as prime minister and later as president.

September 1956: A new constitution allowed Egyptians to approve or reject a presidential candidate. Gamal Abdel Nasser, who took over from Naguib, was approved with 99.9 per cent of the vote.

September 1970: After the death of Nasser from a heart attack, Anwar Sadat was appointed as the new president. He was approved in a referendum in September 1976.

October 1981: After the assassination of Sadat by Islamic extremists, Sufi Abu Taleb took the helm of the country for eight days before Hosni Mubarak was appointed as president. Mubarak was approved in a referendum with 98 per cent of the vote. He was re-elected four times in referendums during the first 24 years of his rule.

September 2005: Under pressure from international allies, Mubarak replaced the article of the constitution describing presidential referendums with multi-candidate elections. He won 88 per cent of the vote.

January 2011: A popular uprising forced Mubarak to resign. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, a group of military leaders, took control of the country and established a road map for transition of power to a civilian government. Parliamentary elections were held in late 2011 and early 2012.

May 2012: The first free presidential elections in Egypt's history are scheduled for May 23 and 24.

bhope@thenational.ae