CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt held its first contested presidential election yesterday, but the long-awaited experiment in expanding Arab democracy was marred by allegations of fraud.

The government wants a heavy turnout to strengthen the position of President Mubarak, widely expected to win another six-year term. First indications, though, suggested that participation would be low.

Mr. Mubarak, 77, who has been elected four times since 1981 in single-candidate plebiscites, is also anxious that the contest be judged free and fair, in contrast to previous votes that have been marred by accusations of malpractice.

Within hours of the polls opening at 8 a.m., however, the first charges of irregularities were made. Mr. Mubarak’s main challengers said that at some polling stations voters were casting their ballots without being properly checked and that the ruling National Democratic Party was laying on trans port for likely supporters.

Independent local monitors complained they were prevented from carrying out on-site inspections and had to observe from a distance.

Ayman Nour, the leader of the liberal Ghad party, which has fought the liveliest campaign, said the elections were “not fair at all.”

But the conduct of the election, never expected to be perfect, seemed to satisfy diplomats from Western countries, which have been pressing for political reform. The initial verdict was that this was an important first step on Egypt’s journey to full democracy.

At the village of Issa, just north of Cairo, no posters featuring any of Mr. Mubarak’s nine opponents were on display. An NDP loudspeaker van toured the streets, urging inhabitants to give him their vote. Even so, there was only a small crowd outside the polling station in a schoolhouse.

A group of independent monitors belonging to local nongovernmental organizations said they had been barred from the premises and told to stay 100 yards back. An official ruling granting them access was made too late for them to obtain the necessary paperwork.

Inside the polling station, voters had their details recorded on a square of paper stamped with Mr. Mubarak’s portrait and the crescent symbol of the NDP. This they swapped for a ballot paper with Mr. Mubarak’s name at the top of the candidate list.

Most of the voters needed no such hints to persuade them.

“We will vote for the president because we love him,” an illiterate old woman said as an official helpfully showed her where to put her mark.

Western diplomats expected Mr. Mubarak to cruise to an easy victory with perhaps 75% of the vote and Dr. Noman Gomaa, the elderly leader of the Wafd, Egypt’s oldest opposition party, sharing the bulk of the rest with Mr. Nour. Full results are not expected until Saturday.