Egypt's rural voters hesitate over candidates Like nearly everyone else in his village, Abu Hamadi Ali went to the polling station near the verdant farmlands of Fayoum province six months ago and cast his ballot for the conservative upstarts of the Islamist Nour party, which calls for the establishment of sharia law. But this week, the 47-year-old nursery owner says he'll vote for Ahmed Shafiq, the secular former fighter pilot and longtime associate of Hosni Mubarak, the deposed president. "Last time we wanted to take revenge, to send a message to the old regime that their time is over," he says, during a tea break beneath a leafy awning in his garden. This time we want only two things: security and stability. Rural Egyptians, who make up about 57 per cent of the population, turned decisively to Islamist candidates of the Nour party and the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party in parliamentary elections that ended in January. Islamists now control 70 per cent of seats in Egypt's lower house. But in contrast to the parliamentary vote, rural Egyptians preparing to vote on Wednesday in the country's first democratic presidential poll appear to be as politically fragmented as their urban counterparts. In Fayoum, where more than 80 per cent voted for Nour or the Freedom and Justice party late last year, residents are planning to vote across the political spectrum. A group of taxi drivers waiting for customers outside the provincial capital declared they were solid supporters of Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, the moderate Islamist, before some broke ranks and said they supported Amr Moussa, the former foreign minister. Among men waiting in a lengthy petrol queue, two favoured Dr Aboul Fotouh, two Mr Moussa, one Hamdeen Sabahi, the socialist, one Mr Shafiq, and one Mohammed Morsi, the Brotherhood candidate. As horse-drawn carts and motorcyclists jostled for space along the narrow roadway, the men began an impromptu political debate. "What has the Brotherhood accomplished?" a supporter of Mr Moussa demanded of a Mr Morsi supporter. "Let the military leave and the Brotherhood will show you what they can do," he replied. "We trusted them once," the supporter of Mr Sabahi chimed in. With five presumed front-runners, this fragmentation could serve Mr Morsi, the candidate with the strongest political machinery. While other campaigns have posters and billboards along Fayoum's main roads, the Brotherhood has reached deep into the narrow tracks that cut through sleepy hamlets where lone men and women till fields of barley and wheat with handheld hoes. "It's not just about having cars and buses to get the voters to the polls," said Ahmed Saleh, a 42-year-old contractor and Brotherhood official in rural Giza province. It's about timing the buses so that the lines don't get too long and the voters don't get bored and go home. Some Friday prayer leaders have also been guiding their flock to vote for the Islamist candidates, residents say. "They don't say vote for this candidate or that candidate," said Sayed Ahmed, a 29-year-old truck driver who traverses the province with produce twice a day. They say you have to vote for a good Muslim. Despite that, many of those who voted for Islamist parties for the parliament say they'll vote for one for the three main secular candidates: Mr Moussa, Mr Shafiq or Mr Sabahi. And those who say they will vote for Islamists are divided between Mr Morsi and Dr Aboul Fotouh. Even diehard Islamists are unsure about their prospects. "God knows who will win," says Safaa Abu Abdullah Taweb, a 27-year-old nurse, in full niqab covering all but her eyes. She voted for the Brotherhood in November and will vote for Mr Morsi this week. "Every village is different," says Shabaan Radi, a 37-year-old unemployed business school graduate living in Fayoum. He voted in December for the Brotherhood's party but is now wavering between Mr Sabahi or Mr Moussa. In part, voters say they're disillusioned with the performance of the Islamist-dominated parliament. Its members talk a lot, voters complain, but have failed to address the region's sewage, transport and fuel problems. But Egypt's experiment in democracy has also given birth to a novel political sophistication; many voters said they were voting to create a balance between the Islamists in parliament and the presidency. Others remained unsure how they would vote. "I don't know yet how I will vote - Aboul Fotouh, Morsi, Amr Moussa," said Hassan, a government employee waiting at a bus stop. Who will do the right thing? Who will fix the economy? Who will create jobs for the people?