BEIRUT: Egypt’s presidential candidates wrapped up their electoral campaigns late Sunday, three days ahead of the country’s first ever presidential vote following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. All 12 candidates held rallies across the country in an attempt to secure last-minute votes before an official deadline for the end of campaigning. Amr Moussa, a front-runner in the race, made his final campaign pledges Sunday, vowing to name three deputies if elected to the country’s top post. “I will name three vice presidents who would represent the youth, women and Copts,” Moussa told a local TV station.

Abdel-Moneim Abol Fotouh, another front-runner, warned against vote rigging and called on the Egyptian Armed Forces not to take sides in the May 23-24 election. Abol Fotouh also touted his Islamist credentials by saying that the Egyptian people support Islamic Shariah as the main source of legislation.

The independent Islamist, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, faces strong competition from Brotherhood candidate Mohammad Mursi, who vowed Sunday to implement Islamic law if elected as president.

“It was for the sake of the Islamic Shariah that men were ... thrown into prison. Their blood and existence rests on our shoulders now,” Mursi said during one campaign rally.

“We will work together to realize their dream of implementing Shariah,” he added.

Mursi is among the top five favorites for the country’s highest post. Besides liberal Moussa and Islamist Abol Fotouh, he faces strong competition from Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq and leftist candidate Hamdeen Sabahy.

Preliminary media reports on voting abroad show Abol Fotouh in the lead, followed by Mursi, with Sabahy and Moussa close behind. Abol Fotouh has thus far won in Qatar, the UAE, Algeria, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Mursi has won in Kuwait and appears to be leading the vote in Saudi Arabia after securing 45 percent of the votes of Egyptians living in Jeddah. The official results for Saudi Arabia have yet to be released.

Results from polling in the United States are still pending due to the large number of Egyptian expatriate voters, though certain cities have reported, with Abol Fotouh winning Houston, Chicago and Washington and performing well in New York and Los Angeles.