EGYPT: Thousands of Egyptians, mainly Islamists, gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square for Friday prayers, with the result of last week's presidential poll still not known
Record ID:
861047
EGYPT: Thousands of Egyptians, mainly Islamists, gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square for Friday prayers, with the result of last week's presidential poll still not known
- Title: EGYPT: Thousands of Egyptians, mainly Islamists, gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square for Friday prayers, with the result of last week's presidential poll still not known
- Date: 23rd June 2012
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (JUNE 22, 2012) (REUTERS) TOP VIEW OF PRAYER IN PROGRESS IN TAHRIR SQUARE MAN BREAKING UP ICE WITH HAMMER VARIOUS OF MEN PREPARING FOR PRAYER CLOSE-UP OF MAN'S FACE MEN PREPARING FOR PRAYER VARIOUS OF TOP VIEW OF LARGE CROWD IN TAHRIR SQUARE PRAYING CROWD PRAYING VARIOUS OF PRAYER IN PROGRESS VARIOUS OF TWO MEN PRAYING ON TOP OF A POLE VARIOUS OF TOP VIEW OF LARGE CROWD IN TAHRIR SQUARE
- Embargoed: 8th July 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Egypt
- City:
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA5Y4W93RHI3WN64NHMS9FAICVL
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Thousands of Egyptians filled Cairo's Tahrir Square for Friday (June 22) prayers as Egypt's presidential candidates, an Islamist and former general, accused each other of trying to steal an election whose result is still not known five days on.
A result is not expected until Saturday (June 23) or Sunday (June 24), giving the country a tense weekend.
With confidence ebbing away in a process Egyptians hoped would secure the democracy they thought they had won with blood spilt on the square over a year ago, those camping out overnight demanded military rulers reverse new orders that entrench the generals' power and called on the election commission to declare the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsy president.
The military council, which has promised to hand over to civilians by July 1, dissolved a new, Islamist-led parliament on the eve of the presidential run-off and then issued a decree as polls closed last Sunday (June 17) setting strict limits on the powers of whoever would be elected president.
In a country where ballot fraud was the norm during 60 years of military rule, trust is low, not least among Brotherhood officials who note that the electoral commission itself is made up of judges appointed under the ousted leader Hosni Mubarak. A parliamentary vote in November 2010 that handed Mubarak's party 90 percent of the seats was one of the triggers for the fury that overthrew him.
The Islamists say they fear the delay in announcing the vote result is part of a plot to deny them the victory that Morsy declared within hours of the polls closing.
The Brotherhood has released chunky volumes of what it says are official documents from polling stations allowing it to conclude Morsy won by four percentage points. Shafik's camp says the Brotherhood is trying to intimidate officials to secure victory, or set the stage for protests if it loses.
Sources on the commission, and in the military, said earlier in the week that preliminary data favoured Morsy - but officials are now bogged down in days of hearing complaints and appeals. Friday and Saturday are the weekend and officials have suggested that a result on Sunday (June 24) is now likely, though not certain. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None