Egyptians voted on Thursday (28 October) for the first time in 24 years, for a General Assembly which will sit for the next five years.

SYNOPSIS: The people greeted the event with boisterous rallies outside polling stations. In one Nile delta town three people were killed and another five injured in fighting between armed groups of rival supporters. A number of other incidents were reported from other country areas.

The country's 9 1/2 million votes voted to elect a parliament of 350 seats. About half the 1,500 candidates belong to three groupings, left, centre and right -- created by President Sadat within the country's only political organisation, the Arab Socialist Union.

The president himself, looking fit and relaxed despite the exertions of the week-long Arab summit, voted in the delta town of Mit Abu Elkoum, his birthplace. The polling station was in a classroom of the local primary school, where the walls were decorated with graphic children's impressions of the crossing of the Suez Canal by Egyptian troops three years ago. The ballot paper for this electorate, had on in names of 12 candidates, along wit ha symbol, a fish or a camel, and so on, to help illiterate people, cat their votes.

One of the candidates in this constituency was shot and wounded during the hectic and sometimes emotional election campaign. A relative of the president's stood as an independent in the electorate. A boisterous crowd greeted Mr. Sadat after he had voted.

After the president had left, the crowd hoisted shoulder-high one of he candidates, Pro Fathi Madi. Most results of the election were expected the following day. The centre group, led by Prime Minister Mamdouh Salem was expected to win easily.