Cairo: The head of the Egypt’s electoral commission Faruq Sultan on Sunday announced Muslim Brotherhood member Mohamed Mursi as the first president of Egypt since a popular uprising ousted Hosni Mubarak.
According to reports, Mursi, 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.
“The winner of the election for Egyptian president on June 16-17 is Mohamed Mursi Eissa al-Ayat,” said Faruq Sultan.
Mursi 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.
Few troops were on the streets but security officials said they were ready to respond to trouble. Government workers around Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters had gathered, were encouraged to go home for the day.
Streets in the center of the capital were very quiet, shops were closed and people stayed indoors, anxious for news and assailed by rumors of results favoring both of the candidates.
The outcome will be historic for the Middle East, but will not end power struggles between the army, Islamists and others over Egypt’s future.
Mursi says he won the race to lead the biggest Arab nation, even if the generals who have been in charge since Mubarak was ousted 500 days ago are not giving up their control just yet.
The Brotherhood and liberal-minded activists who galvanized the street last year against Mubarak may react angrily if the election committee announces the winner is instead Shafiq, a former air force commander and last prime minister of the old regime. Like Mubarak, every president for six decades has emerged from military ranks.
Many Egyptians, and millions across the region, would see a Shafiq win as a mortal blow to last year’s Arab Spring revolt, despite his assurances of also wanting an inclusive government.
Mursi, a 60-year-old, U.S.-educated engineer and political prisoner under Mubarak, declared victory within hours of polls closing last Sunday – a move condemned by the generals. In a sign of continued confidence, he has already met other groups and drafted an accord to form a national coalition government.
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