Cairo: Egypt’s electoral committee began Wednesday looking into the appeals filed by presidential candidates Mohammad Mursi and Ahmad Shafiq claiming victory in presidential polls.

The Muslim Brotherhood said in the early hours of Monday morning that their candidate, Mohammad Morsi, had won the run-off, and on Tuesday provided what they said were certified copies of ballot tallies to bolster their claims.

But Mursi’s rival Ahmad Shafiq, former President Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, has also claimed a victory, with his campaign accusing the Brotherhood of issuing false figures and insisting official results due out on Thursday will declare him president.

A group of independent judges — headed by the ex-head of the Judges Union, Zakaria Abdul Aziz — who monitored the voting process confirmed in a news conference that Mursi had won, according to their tally.

The new president, irrespective of the result, will not wield the near-absolute authority Mubarak enjoyed for three decades, after SCAF issued a constitutional declaration on Sunday claiming sweeping powers.

Mubarak’s successor will also inherit a struggling economy, increased insecurity and the challenge of uniting a nation divided by the uprising and its deadly aftermath.

The SCAF’s document said it would retake legislative powers from the Islamist-dominated parliament after the country’s constitutional court on Thursday ordered the body dissolved.

And it grants the military council veto power over the drafting of a permanent constitution, angering activists who denounced the declaration and an earlier order giving the army power to arrest civilians, as a “coup.”

The Brotherhood also rejected the declaration, insisting the parliament retains legislative power, and pledging to participate in “popular activities” against it.

On Tuesday night, they joined a mass demonstration in Cairo’s Tahrir square, which attracted over 15,000 protesters, some celebrating Mursi’s win as much as denouncing the military move.

 

All speculation

Even as news of Mubarak’s deteriorating health broke, many Egyptians were more concerned about the identity of their next president.

“The news about Mubarak’s health is all speculation. We should depend on reality. We can’t keep following rumours,” said Maher Eid Hamdan, a 59-year-old pensioner, in central Cairo.

“As for the elections, may the right man win.”