Egypt in turmoil as army gains powers and Muslim brotherhood claims electoral victory

Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi claimed victory Monday inEgypt’s first free presidential vote, as the military handed itself sweeping powers in a move denounced by activists as a “coup.”

A confirmed win by Mursi would mark the first time fundamentalists are elected to the presidency in the Arab World’s most populous nation, but the military rulers’ moves to consolidate power ahead of the final results have rendered
any future president toothless.

His rival Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force chief and ex-prime minister to ousted president Hosni Mubarak, disputed the Brotherhood’s victory announcement, labelling it “bizarre behaviour.” State television too reported that initial
counts showed Mursi in the lead.

There were scenes of jubilation at Mursi’s headquarters, where the candidate himself thanked Egyptians for their votes in brief remarks after the Brotherhood said he had won 52 percent of the vote.

Mursi pledged to work to “hand-in-hand with all Egyptians for a better future, freedom, democracy, development and peace. We are not seeking vengeance or to settle accounts,” he said, adding that he would build a “modern, democratic
state” for all Egypt’s citizens, Muslims and Christians.

But a Shafiq campaign official said their figures showed that their candidate, who served as prime minister to deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak, leading in the count. “We reject it completely,” Mahmud Baraka, said of the Brotherhood’s
claim.

“We are astonished by this bizarre behaviour which amounts to a hijacking of the election results.” Mursi’s supporters screamed with excitement, some wiping tears from their eyes. Several hundred held a victory rally in Cairo’s
iconic Tahrir Square, the hub of protests that Mubarak in February 2011.

The jubilation was overshadowed however by a looming showdown between the Brotherhood and the ruling military, which issued a new constitutional document shortly after polls closed on Sunday granting it sweeping powers.

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Posted by Hamza Jahangir on Jun 18 2012. Filed under Latest News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry