Egypt Delays Election Result

Officials: We need time to probe violation reports
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 20, 2012 11:29 PM CDT
Updated Jun 21, 2012 2:26 AM CDT
Egypt Delays Election Result
Muslim Brotherhood supporters chant slogans and carry posters with a picture of presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi.   (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Egypt's election authority is delaying releasing the results of the presidential election—probably for "a day or two"—while it investigates hundreds of complaints of electoral violations made by rival candidates Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq. Muslim Brotherhood candidate Morsi, and Shafiq, ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, have both proclaimed themselves winners, reports CNN. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces—which has gutted the powers of the presidency by military decree—says the results are in the hands of election officials, not the military council.

Thousands of the Muslim Brotherhood's supporters have gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square to challenge what they view as a military power grab and stage a sit-in until the election results are announced. At the moment, the atmosphere is more party than protest, but that could change quickly, notes the BBC correspondent at the scene. The situation has been furthered complicated by conflicting reports about Mubarak's health. His lawyer says Mubarak is not on the brink of death, but was hospitalized after falling in a prison bathroom. (More Egypt stories.)

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