Brotherhood, Mubarak's premier vie for Egypt presidency

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

   Cairo (dpa) - Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq will face each other in a run-off vote for president, Egypt election commission officials said Monday.

   The run-off vote, scheduled for June 16-17, will be held because neither won an outright majority in last week's elections. There were 13 candidates in the polls, the first after a popular revolt ousted president Hosny Mubarak in February 2011.

   Morsi got 24.8 per cent of the votes, while Shafiq got 23.7 per cent, said election commission chief Farouk Sultan.

   Some people were celebrating the results by driving around Cairo's streets, honking their car horns.

   However, thousands of others took to the streets in Cairo, the northern city of Alexandria and the eastern city of Suez protesting at the qualification of Shafiq, Mubarak's last premier, for the second round.

   About 500 people gathered in the iconic Tahrir Square in central Cairo, chanting: "For the second time, people want to oust the regime," activists said online.

   In Alexandria, protesters vowed to continue their revolt against members of the former regime.

   Madid, a middle-aged office worker, said he will boycott the vote. "I am not happy with either of them, and I still have not made up my mind. Both of them just want the position," he said.

   Sultan said turnout in what was billed as the country's first free presidential elections was 46 per cent.

   He also said that the commission had rejected all the complaints it received from various candidates about the voting, including those from leftist candidate Hamdeen Sabahy who came third with 20.7 per cent of votes.

   Two presidential candidates, who did not qualify for a second round, raised questions about the validity of the results.

   "There are question marks on the result of the election," former Arab League chief Amr Moussa told a press conference in Cairo, without providing details of any alleged violations.

   Abdul-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, a moderate Islamist candidate, said: "My conscience does not allow me to say that these elections were fair." He alleged that "millions of pounds were stolen and distributed to people to buy vote."

   Abul-Fotouh claimed that representatives of candidates had been excluded from voting centres while the ballots were being counted.

   Sultan, however, denied the allegations of fraud, saying that "the process has been transparent and clear."

   He thanked citizens for their participation, the armed forces for their support in organizing the elections and protecting polling stations, as well as more than 14,000 judges for overseeing the process.

   Morsi is a 60-year-old engineer. The conservative Islamist is the head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). Although many people condemn the FJP's performance in parliament, the organization remains the biggest grassroots group in Egypt and has many loyalists.

   Shafiq, 70, was appointed by Mubarak as a prime minister during the 18-day uprising last year. He is former air force commander and was the civil aviation minister for about nine years. He was known for his iron-clad rule in the ministry, a trait applauded by his supporters.

   Many Egyptians are concerned that a win by Shafiq will revive the Mubarak regime. Others are concerned that if Morsi wins, the Muslim Brotherhood would have greater control over state institutions as it already has nearly half of the seats in parliament.

   The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has been in charge since Mubarak's ouster, has vowed to hand over power to the elected president by the end of June.

   Shafiq and Morsi are expected to begin their second round campaigns on Wednesday, until June 15.

   Final results are expected on June 21.