20120522
AFP
Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi leads the race for Egypt's presidency among overseas voters, thanks to massive support from the expatriate community in Saudi Arabia, initial figures showed on Monday.

Egyptians abroad went to the polls ahead of their compatriots at home who are set to vote on Wednesday and Thursday, and embassies and consulates have begun releasing initial results.

A tally announced by Egyptian missions in 33 countries put Mursi far ahead, with 106,252 votes, trailed by moderate Islamist Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, with 77,499.

Nasserist candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi came third with 44,727 votes, while former foreign minister Amr Mussa was in fourth place, followed by Ahmed Shafiq, the last premier to serve under ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

But the numbers were dominated by the votes cast in Saudi Arabia -- Egypt's largest expat community -- where Mursi secured a massive 49 percent of the vote, according to Egyptian diplomats.

His 68,443 votes put him well ahead of his nearest rival, Abul Fotouh, who took 36,480 votes -- 26.1 percent.

Sabbahi, who has campaigned on a platform supporting the left-leaning policies of president Gamal Abdul Nasser who ruled in the 1950s and 1960s, came in third, with 15,292 votes, just under 11 percent of the ballots cast.

In Kuwait, home to another large expatriate community, voters also favoured Mursi, with 17,149 casting their ballots in favour of the Brotherhood's candidate.

Abul Fotouh came in second, with 14,109 votes, well ahead of third-placed Sabbahi with 9,031.

Although the results announced overseas are unofficial, they have been closely watched in Egypt, where opinion polling has been seen as inaccurate and has produced wildly contradictory results.

In Europe, expat voting produced varying results, with Sabbahi winning in France with 736 ballots, followed closely by former premier Shafiq with 706 votes.

In Britain, Abdul Fotouh was the clear winner, taking 1,300 votes, ahead of Sabbahi with 962. In Greece, Mussa was in the lead, with 362 votes, followed by Shafiq and Sabbahi.