Cairo's criminal court has sentenced ousted President Hosni Mubarak's former chief of staff to 7 years in jail on corruption charges.

The Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) officially announced Monday that the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Mursi and ex-Mubarak prime minister Ahmed Shafiq will face off in the second round of Egypt's presidential elections second round slated for 16 and 17 June.

The outcome of the first round of presidential elections, which started for Egyptian expats overseas 11 May and in Egypt 23-24 May, has excluded the two frontrunners of the pre-elections phase: Amr Moussa, who was put first by many opinion polls, and Abdel Moneim Abul-Fotouh, who was routinely placed a close second.

Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday sentenced former presidential Chief of Staff Zakariya Azmy to seven years in prison and fined him LE36 million for abusing power to generate illicit gains of more than LE42.6 million during his time in office.

Presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi said he will not accept a vice presidential position under the Muslim Brotherhood in a raucous press conference Saturday evening.

In a high-profile strategic meeting called by Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy, longtime Mubarak-opposition leader Ayman Nour said he would only back Morsy in a runoff if the Brotherhood leader denounced the religious organization and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party.

Former Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said Saturday that boycotting the run-off presidential election or invalidating one's vote "will strengthen counter-revolutionary voting."

The two surviving candidates in Egypt’s presidential election appealed Saturday for support from voters who rejected them as polarizing extremists in the first round even as they faced a new challenge from the third runner-up who contested the preliminary results

4:00 pm: A supporter of Freedom and Justice Party presidential candidate Mohamed Morsy was distributing meat and sugar to voters in Qena Governorate, according to election monitors with the Hurra Naziha Coalition.

US senators subtracted $5 million from aid provided to Egypt on Wednesday, to reimburse the US Treasury for money it paid to bail out American pro-democracy activists facing charges there earlier this year.

During visits to polling stations on Wednesday, military ruler Hussein Tantawi found himself in a few awkward situations with voters.

Revolutionary youth movements announced Wednesday that they would rally in Tahrir Square Thursday to send a warning to the ruling military council not to interfere with election results on behalf of former regime candidates.

The mood on the streets of Cairo's Abbasiya district on Wednesday morning was characteristically pensive, as it has been for the past three weeks since the eruption ofbloody clashesnear defence ministry headquarters between protesters angry with the disqualification of Salafist presidential hopeful Hazem Abu-Ismail, unknown assailants and military police.

Egyptians are voting today for the first president after the 25 January uprising. More than 50 million citizens across Egypt’s 27 governorates are eligible to vote, choosing from 11 candidates. The contest is considered wide open. Egypt Independent will be bringing you live updates throughout the day.

Presidential candidate and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq denied on Wednesday rumors that he had suffered a stroke or been the victim of an assassination attempt.

Secretary General of the Presidential Elections Commission Hatem Bagato said Tuesday that ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his son, Gamal, have the right to vote in the presidential election.

Egypt’s stock market had risen by midday Wednesday, encouraged by an atmosphere of optimism produced by the presidential election, which has so far not witnessed major problems, alleviating investors’ fears.

As I stood in a line of around thirty women in front of Insaf Siry School in Shubra, the historic neighbourhood in central Cairo, the air was tense. The atmosphere was one of seriousness and worry rather than excitement about Egypt's first democratic presidential election.

In press statements on Monday, Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri said the government would not allow any irregularities in this week's presidential election, and would take all legal measures against attempts to prevent citizens from casting their votes.

Egypt's economy grew by 5.2 per cent in the first quarter of the 2012 calendar year, the country's minister of planning said on Monday.

The National Council for Human Rights (NHCR) called upon the Presidential Elections Commission to extend the voting period to allow all Egyptians to cast their votes.