Islamist claims victory
Islamist candidate Mohammed Morsi declared victory yesterday in Egypt's first free presidential election since Hosni Mubarak's ouster 16 months ago.
Egypt's official news agency is quoting a senior member of the ruling military council as saying the generals will hand over power to the newly elected president at the end of the month.
In a yesterday report, it quoted Maj Gen. Mohammed al-Assar as saying the transfer of power will take place in a "grand ceremony." He gave no exact date.
The winner of the presidential runoff held this weekend will be officially announced on Thursday.
Though official results have not yet been announced, the Brotherhood released a tally that showed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood took nearly 52 percent of the vote to defeat Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq with about 48 percent in a very close race.
The count was based on results announced by election officials at individual polling centers, where each campaign has representatives who compile and release the numbers before the formal announcement.
If Morsi's victory is confirmed in the official result, it would be the first victory of an Islamist as head of state in the stunning wave of pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East the past year. But the military's last minute power grab sharpens the possibility of confrontation and more of the turmoil that has beset Egypt since Mubarak's overthrow.
By midday, several hundred flag-waving supporters had gathered at Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the uprising, to celebrate.
In a victory speech at his headquarters in the middle of the night, Morsi, 60, clearly sought to assuage the fears of many Egyptians that the Brotherhood will try to impose stricter provisions of Islamic law. He said he seeks "stability, love and brotherhood for the Egyptian civil, national, democratic, constitutional and modern state" and made no mention of Islamic law.
"Thank God, who successfully led us to this blessed revolution. Thank God, who guided the people of Egypt to this correct path, the road of freedom, democracy," the bearded, US-educated engineer declared.
He vowed he would be a "servant" to all Egyptians, "men, women, mothers, sisters ... all political factions, the Muslims, the Christians," and added: "We are not about taking revenge or settling scores. We are all brothers of this nation, we own it together, and we are equal in rights and duties."
Just a few days before the presidential runoff on Saturday and Sunday, the military granted itself broad new powers to arrest civilians and a court packed with judges appointed by Mubarak dissolved the parliament freely elected after the uprising, which was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.
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