Tensions soared in Egypt yesterday a day before the result of a divisive presidential election and as the Muslim Brotherhood sparred with the ruling generals over what it sees as a military power grab.
The delay of the result has raised suspicions that the outcome of the election is being negotiated
The electoral commission overseeing the divisive contest between Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq said it will announce the official winner today.
“Faruk Sultan, the head of the presidential election commission, will announce the results of the presidential election run-off on Sunday at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT),” the commission’s secretary general, Hatem Bagato, said in a statement.
Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters spent the night in Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square, having vowed to stay there until the election result is published.
“Morsi, Morsi, God is the Greatest,” the protesters chanted in anticipation of a victory for their candidate, who says he won according to tallies provided by electoral officials.
Both Morsi and Shafiq have claimed victory in the election for a successor to Hosni Mubarak, sparking tensions between the rival camps that have deepened after the electoral commission delayed announcing the official outcome.
Across the city, in the Nasr City neighbourhood, hundreds of Shafiq supporters held up pictures of their candidate and of military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, chanting “the people and the army are one”.
“Down with the rule of the Supreme Guide,” protesters shouted, referring to the head of the Muslim Brotherhood.
A massive security plan has been put in place in the capital to prevent unrest when the result is announced today, an interior ministry official told AFP.
The delay in the announcement of the result of the June 16 to17 run-off, initially scheduled for Thursday, has raised suspicions that the outcome of the election is being negotiated rather than counted.
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 told AFP.
On Friday, the SCAF warned it would deal “with utmost firmness and strength” with any attempts to harm public interests, while the Brotherhood warned against tampering with the election results but said it had no intention of instigating violence.
The Brotherhood rejects a constitutional declaration by the military which strips away any gains made by the Islamist group since the popular uprising which forced Mubarak to stand down in February last year.