Egypt PM urges calm during election

CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt's premier Kamal al-Ganzuri on Tuesday urged for calm during the country's first presidential election since a popular uprising, calling on political forces to accept the results of the historic vote.

Ganzuri called on Egyptians to "stand together to ensure the success of the electoral process and to accept the decision of the majority of Egyptians who will express their will through the ballot boxes."

In a statement, he expressed hope that "the elections proceed with calm" and called on "candidates, political forces, parties to urge their supporters to respect the will of others and accept the results of the election."

Around 50 million eligible voters are being called to choose ousted president Hosni Mubarak's successor on Wednesday and Thursday, with a run-off scheduled next month should there be no outright winner.

The main contenders are former foreign minister and Arab League chief Amr Mussa; Ahmed Shafiq, the last premier to serve under Mubarak; the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Mursi; independent Islamist Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh and Nasserist candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi.