Egypt Holds Elections as Military Council Resists Calls to Transfer Power to Civilians

Egypt is in the second day of its first elections since the ouster of longtime president Hosni Mubarak earlier this year. On Monday, Egyptians waited in long lines to choose their first-ever democratically elected parliament. The elections are being held in the wake of fierce clashes between protesters and police last week that left at least 42 people dead and more than 3,100 wounded. We play a video report filed by Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous in Cairo about the election held in the aftermath of the deadly crackdown.

"We're right here saying we want our rights... a civilian presidential council that is formed from people that represent us and that are agreed upon but they must have full authority not just someone like before, like Essam Sharaf's government, just a secretary that carries out what the military council wants," says protester Rania Mohamed Fawzi. "No, we've been silent for a long time. This time, we are not silent. And we will get all our rights. And this won't be like the first time. They said Mubarak left and we all went home. No. This time we won't go home until we get all our rights."