CAIRO: Egyptian presidential hopefuls Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh traded barbs about their past in a debate that captured the historic moment facing a nation preparing for its first real election for head of state.

Viewers tuned in across the Arab world for a spectacle unthinkable before Hosni Mubarak was swept from power by a mass uprising 15 months ago. The election gets under way in two weeks, the climax of an army-led transition to civilian rule.

One a veteran diplomat who once served as Mubarak's foreign minister and the other an Islamist who was jailed by his administration, Abol Fotouh and Moussa have emerged as two of the leading contenders to replace the deposed president.

Facing off for more than four hours in a show broadcast on two privately owned television networks, Moussa and Abol Fotouh sought to trip each other up on questions ranging from their perspective on Islamic sharia law to their views on Israel. They repeatedly accused each other of distorting the facts.

A former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Abol Fotouh portrayed Moussa as a member of the Mubarak government that had corrupted Egypt. “There is a rule that says the that one who created the problem cannot solve it,” said the 60-year old.

Moussa, who was head of the Arab League at the time of the uprising, defended his record as Egypt's foreign minister but added that he had left the post in 2001. “The regime that fell, fell with Moussa outside of it,” said the 75-year old. “I say, you too were silent. You used to defend the positions of the Muslim Brotherhood and not Egyptian interests.”

Egyptians are due to vote on May 23 and 24 in the first round of the election that is expected to go to a June run-off between the top two candidates from the field of 13.

The first real presidential election in this country of more than 80 million people is being watched across the region as a measure of change brought by last year's historic uprisings across the Middle East. Other contenders include Mohamed Mursi, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's last prime minister, and Hamdeen Sabahy, a leftist.

The organisers of Thursday's debate said Moussa and Abol Fotouh had been invited because they were ahead in the polls.