|
Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi Declared Egypt's President
[An Nahar] Moslem Brüderbund member Mohammed Morsi was on Sunday declared the first president of Egypt since a popular uprising ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... , the head of the electoral commission announced. "The winner of the election for Egyptian president on June 16-17 is Mohammed Morsi Eissa al-Ayat," said Farouq Sultan, the commission's head. Morsi, who ran against ex-prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, won 51.73 percent of the vote after a race that polarized the Arab world's most populous nation. Shafiq received 48.27 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission's announcement. Morsi won 13,230,131 votes against Shafiq who clinched 12,347,380. The election, in which more than 50 million voters were eligible to cast their ballot, saw a 51.8 percent turnout. Thousands of Egyptians packed into Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square to celebrate Morsi's victory, waving flags and posters of the Islamist leader. "God is greatest" and "down with military rule" they chanted as some set off fire crackers minutes after the election commission formally declared the result. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, congratulated Morsi on his victory, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe? said. "Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi congratulates Dr. Mohammed Morsi on winning the presidency of the republic," the channel reported. "The commission began its work in mid-February, but it was faced from the very beginning by a fierce campaign and treason accusations from the various political forces," said the head of the commission during the presser. "Some tried to question our work, some kept rejecting our decisions and some launched campaigns to pave the ground for accusing us of rigging the results should their candidate lose," he added. Posted by: Fred 2012-06-25 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=347201 |