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June 18, 2012

Muslim Brotherhood Claims Egypt Elections; Military Council Claims New Powers 
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Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has declared victory in the country's
landmark presidential elections. The group says its candidate, Mohammed
Morsi, beat out former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq by close to
one million votes in the weekend's presidential run-off. Shafiq's
campaign has refused to concede defeat, and says it will await final
results due later this week. Turnout was lower than in the first round
of voting, with around 46 percent of Egypt's 51 million eligible voters
taking part. Many Egyptians stayed home in protest of the ruling Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces, which dissolved Egypt's parliament late
last week. On Sunday, the Council threw the country into further
disarray after releasing new guidelines that will severely limit
presidential authority while shoring up its own powers. The move hands
all legislative responsibilities to the Council until a new parliament
is formed. But the new parliament can only happen after the drafting of
a new Egyptian constitution — a process that could take months.

 

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