--SUPERS --
:28 - :33
Sayed
Street Vendor

:52 - 1:05
Nagla
Housewife

1:07 - 1:25
Doia
Lawyer

1:28 - 1:39
Gamal
Bank Worker

1:40 - 1:49
Saleh Mohammed

2:07 - 2:11
Faily
Student

2:11 - 2:19
Moataz
Student

2:20 - 2:27
Mohammed
Student

--LEAD IN --
Next week Egyptians will cast their votes in the first presidential election since the longtime leader Hosni Mubarak left office.
Twelve candidates are in the offing.
Meanwhile protests continue to erupt amid a backdrop of frustration about the pace of reform.
With the election only days way, CNN's Ben Wedeman talked to Egyptians about what they're looking for in a candidate.

--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS --
THEIR PICTURES ARE EVERYWHERE…THE THIRTEEN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SMILE DOWN ON THE PEOPLE OF CAIRO...
...LOOK PENSIVELY AT SOME DISTANT HORIZON…
…OR SIMPLY STARE OUT, AS IF WITH ONE SIMPLE MESSAGE: VOTE FOR ME.
AND IN EXCHANGE FOR THAT COVETED VOTE, WHAT DO THE RESIDENTS OF THE WORKING CLASS DISTRICT FO SAYIDA ZAYNAB WANT FROM THEIR NEXT PRESIDENT?
"OF COURSE, SAFETY AND SECURITY", SAYS STREET VENDOR SAYID.
SINCE THE OUSTER OF HOSNI MUBARAK, CAIRO HAS BEEN GRIPPED BY REGULAR CONVULSIONS OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE…AND CRIME IS ON THE RISE. THE POLICE NO LONGER COMMAND THE RESPECT-AND FEAR-THEY ONCE DID.
"Before I used to go out by myself at two or three in the morning, says NAGLA, A HOUSEWIFE. "Now I worry about my daughter when she goes to university, I worry about my son when he goes to school. I worry about everything."
DUA THE LAWYER BALANCES IDEALISM WITH REALISM WHEN ADDRESSING THE JOB OF THE PRESIDENT.
"Bread, freedom and social justice, those were the principles of revolution", SHE SAYS. "If security is restored, those principles can be achieved as well."
BANK WORKER GAMAL IS CONCERNED WITH THE FALLING STANDARD OF LIVING.
"The health system is in bad shape, as is education", HE TELLS ME. "Conditions for people in egypt are very, very, bad."
"His first priority should be to get the country back on its feet", SAYS TRINKET SELLER MOHAMED. "The economy is collapsing."
IN A SIDEWALK CAFÉ IN THE CITY CENTRE, UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TRY TO DISTRACT THEMSELVES FROM FINAL EXAMS, JUST THREE WEEKS AWAY…
SALLY IS IN HER LAST YEAR OF LAW SCHOOL AT CAIRO UNIVERSITY.
SHE SAYS, "The first thing the president should do is get the economy up and running again."
"The most important thing for the next president is security", SAYS HER CLASSMATE, MOATAZ.
"Justice", SAYS MOHAMED, A THIRD YEAR LAW STUDENT. "The most important thing is justice for the people of Egypt."
AND UNLIKE IN THE PAST, WHOEVER BECOMES THE PRESIDENT OF EGYPT, WILL ACTUALLY HAVE TO LISTEN TO WHAT THOSE PEOPLE SAY.
BEN WEDEMAN , CNN, CAIRO
-----END-----CNN.SCRIPT-----

--KEYWORD TAGS--
ARAB SPRING CAIRO POLITICS MIDEAST