CAIRO: Egyptians queued patiently to vote on Wednesday, eager to pick their leader for the first time in a national history dating to the pharaohs, with Islamic-minded and secular-minded rivals who served under deposed President Hosni Mubarak heading the field.

With no reliable opinion polls, no one knows who will win the presidency, but Egyptians revelled in the uncertainty after the routinely rigged votes of Mubarak’s 30 years in power.

“We must prove that the times when we stayed at home and someone would choose for us are over,” said Islam Mohamed, a 27-year-old swimming coach, waiting at a Cairo polling station.

There were no early reports of vote-related violence.

The election is a momentous sequel to the popular revolt that toppled Mubarak 15 months ago. The military council in charge of a messy political transition since then has overseen a constitutional referendum, parliamentary polls and now a vote for a president to whom it has promised to hand power by July 1.

The revolutionaries of Tahrir Square may be reluctant to trust Egypt’s future to Islamists or Mubarak-era politicians, but those candidates may appeal to many of the 50 million eligible voters who yearn for Islamic-tinged reform or who want a firm and experienced hand to restore stability and security.

Whoever wins faces a huge task to relieve a dire economic outlook and will also have to deal with a military establishment keen to preserve its privileges and political influence.

The relative powers of the president, government, parliament, judiciary and military have yet to be defined as a tussle over who should write a new constitution rumbles on.

Many Egyptians were still undecided even as they went to the polls on the first of two days of voting.

“I will vote today, no matter what, it is a historic thing to do, although I don’t really know who I will vote for,” said Mahmoud Morsy, 23. He then said he would probably plump for Mohamed Mursi, candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose voting machine has already ensured it the biggest bloc in parliament.

The nation of 82 million was in festive and relaxed mood, with many voters joking and chatting on a day to remember.

“Rise up Egypt,” ran a giant headline in the popular daily Al Masry Al Youm, while state-run Al Gomhuria offered: “The president is in the ballot box, the key is with the people.”

Voters shuffled slowly toward the ballot booths in bright sunshine. Some had brought chairs and newspapers, anticipating the long lines that often stretched around the block.

After the novelty of a three-week campaign blitz where candidates fervently wooed their support, Egyptians also enjoyed seeing presidential hopefuls queueing beside them to vote.