Egyptians turned out en masse yesterday to get their first taste of democracy after president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, but the vote was marred by an assault on Nobel Peace prize laureate Mohamed El Baradei.

No turnout figures are expected before today but officials described the numbers at polling stations as unprecedented in Egypt, where participation was minuscule in the Mubarak era as voters assumed their ballots would make no difference.

Just five weeks after the strongman quit, the estimated 45 million voters were asked to say “yes” or “no” to a package of constitutional changes intended to guide the Arab world’s most populous nation through fresh presidential and parliamentary elections within six months.

AFP correspondents reported huge queues outside polling stations throughout the day from the Nile Delta to the Sinai peninsula, and from the Suez Canal to the capital, as voters seized their first taste of democracy after the overthrow of decades of authoritarian rule by nationwide street protests. “Today we feel our vote can make a difference,” said pharmacy student Maraam Mohammed as she queued to vote in Cairo’s twin city of Giza, site of the world-famous Pyramids. “Before we didn’t have that confidence.”

One government official told AFP: “It’s very difficult to get numbers but everyone agrees it’s unprecedented, it’s huge, it’s never been seen before.”

Arab League chief Amr Mussa, an Egyptian who is a leading contender for president in eventual elections, hailed the huge turnout as he cast his vote in upscale Garden City.