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Egyptians will soon know the winner of a divisive
presidential election after the results were delayed following victory
claims by both candidates that have sparked tensions between the rival
camps.
The electoral commission overseeing the contest between Muslim
Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and former prime minister Ahmed
Shafik said it would announce the official winner at 3:00 pm (13:00 GMT)
on Sunday.
Both candidates have rallied supporters to the
streets in a show of strength amid speculations about last-minute
backdoor deals between the powerful ruling generals and the Brotherhood
over power-sharing arrangements.
Extra security forces have been
deployed in Cairo and police were ordered to "confront with firmness"
any violation of the law just hours ahead of the official announcement
of results amid fears of violence.
Occupy Tahrir
By Saturday evening, hundreds of Brotherhood supporters determined to
occupy Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square until the election result was
published, had been joined by others, swelling their numbers to the
thousands.
They are demonstrating against what they say is a power grab by the military and an attempt to limit presidential power.
Supporters of former prime minister Ahmed Shafik and the country's
military rulers are also holding parallel protests in the suburb of Nasr
city, north of Cairo.
This was the largest show of force by pro-Shafik, pro-military demonstrators since the election.
They raised Egyptian flags and posters of Shafik and chanted, "Down,
down with the rule of the Guide", referring to the title of the
Brotherhood's movement leader.
The election commission overseeing the divisive contest between
Mohamed Morsi, the Brotherhood candidate, and Ahmed Shafik said it would
announce the official winner on Sunday.
"Farouk Sultan, the head of the presidential election commission,
will announce the results of the presidential election run-off on Sunday
at 3pm (13:00 GMT)," Hatem Bagato, the commission's secretary-general,
said in a statement on Saturday.
Both Morsi and Shafik have claimed victory in the election for a
successor to Hosni Mubarak, escalating tensions between the rival camps
that have deepened after the electoral commission delayed announcing the
official outcome.
The delay in the announcement of the result of the June 16-17 runoff,
initially scheduled for Thursday, has raised suspicions that the
outcome of the election is being negotiated rather than counted.
Al Jazeera's Jamal El Shayyal, reporting from Cairo, said there is an increased level of mistrust in Egypt.
"Egypt has become more and more unpredictable day by day," he said.
"There is an increased level of mistrust, and this will be one of the
most difficult challenges for the new president to overcome, trying to
bridge the differences between the sides."
Clash over powers
As the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the
Brotherhood clashed publicly over recent measures that consolidated the
army's power, privately they have been engaged in talks, sources say.
The Brotherhood rejects a constitutional declaration by the
SCAF which erases any gains made by the group since the popular uprising
which forced Mubarak to step down in February last year.
The document dissolves the Islamist-led parliament and gives the army
a broad say in government policy and control over the new constitution.
It was adopted just days after a justice ministry decree granted the
army powers of arrest.
The SCAF has defended its constitutional declaration, which also
erased the president’s role as commander-in-chief and gave the military
autonomy over its own budget and personnel decisions.
"The issuing of a constitutional declaration was a necessity imposed
by the needs of managing the affairs of the country during the current
critical phase of the history of our nation," it said on Friday.
The SCAF also gave warning it would deal "with utmost firmness and strength" with any attempts to harm public interests.
For its part, the Brotherhood cautioned against tampering with the
election results but said it had no intention of instigating violence.
Even if Morsi wins, the changes leave the Brotherhood with no parliament, no say in the constitution and a powerless president.
"It's a problem which we are trying to resolve," one Brotherhood official said earlier.
Identity of winner
The developments come amid conflicting reports over who would be declared the election winner.
"Morsi to be declared the winner today. Unless," read Saturday's headline of the independent daily Al-Shorouk.
The liberal daily Al-Wafd said on its front page: "Shafik is close to the presidential palace."
The election has polarised the nation, dividing those who fear a
return to the old regime under Shafik's leadership from others who want
to keep religion out of politics and fear the Brotherhood would stifle
personal freedoms.
Shafik ran on a strong law-and-order platform, pledging to restore security and stability.
Morsi, on the other hand, sought to allay the fears of secular groups
and the country's sizeable Coptic Christian minority by promising a
diverse and inclusive political system.
The English website of state-owned Al Ahram newspaper cited
on Friday government sources who said Shafik would be declared the
winner, while the Arabic website cited election committee sources who
said Morsi was still in the lead.
The Brotherhood has released photocopies of official counts from
every district in Egypt showing Morsi with a lead of around 900,000
votes, but those results are not final until the election committee
rules. |
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