 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was reelected chairman of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) Saturday at a special session in advance of the inaugural meeting of the party's Ninth General Conference. Mubarak, who ran as the only candidate for the party chief post, was reelected the NDP chairman for a new term during the meeting of the party held at Cairo Stadium Saturday morning. According to unofficial counting, Mubarak won 5,248 votes out of 5,310 party representatives who cast ballots in the election, the first direct vote via secret ballots for the party leadership. The 79-year-old veteran statesman of the Arab country has been in the top post of the NDP since he came to power as president of the country following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. |