Despite the fact that the Presidential Elections Commission will not announce the final results of the election until Thursday, the Freedom and Justice Party’s official newspaper leads with “Morsy…A President” on Monday. The mouthpiece of the FJP writes that the revolution has won and the people defeated the old regime.
The paper reports that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy was victorious in 17 governorates and beat his opponent, former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, by over 1 million votes. According to the newspaper, Morsy won in Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Beheira, North Sinai, Qena, New Valley, Marsa Matrouh, Alexandria, Suez, Ismailia, Aswan, Sohag, Kafr al-Sheikh, Assiut, and Giza.
The FJP paper also reports that Saad al-Katatny, head of the recently-dissolved Parliament, stated that the newly-formed Constituent Assembly is an independent body according to Article 60 of the Constitutional Declaration. He said that the assembly will hold its first meeting on Monday.
During a meeting with military Chief-of-Staff Sami Anan and several other members of the ruling military council, Katatny rejected the supplement to the interim constitution and the dissolution of Parliament as null and unconstitutional, the Freedom and Justice paper says.
The Supreme Council of Armed Forces issued yesterday amendments to the Constitutional Declaration that will limit the powers of the coming president and expand the military's role. The FJP’s paper adds that FJP Vice President Essam al-Erian forcefully attacked the new amendments and described them as a “constitutional coup,” saying that they are rejected by political forces and the people.
State-run newspaper Al-Ahram leads with the headline, “Egyptians hold their breaths and await the president,” reporting that preliminary results show a slim margin between the two candidates. The paper says that the big governorates will resolve the race, adding that Morsy leads in Aswan, the Red Sea New Valley while Qena and Luxor went for Shafiq.
Al-Ahram reports that the results of Egyptian expatriate voting in the runoff will be announced by the Foreign Ministry today.
Al-Ahram also reports that the FJP insists upon holding a parliamentary session tomorrow to discuss the Supreme Constitutional Court verdict against the Parliamentary Elections Law that nullifies the current Parliament. FJP MP Sobhy Saleh stated that if MPs are denied the right to meet and discuss the verdict, a report will be filed.
Independent daily Al-Shorouk does not lead with the provisional results of the presidential race, instead running the front page headline, “A president with no authority.” In its analysis of the recently-issued amendments to the interim constitution, the newspaper points out that the military council deprived the coming president with the right to declare war.
With regard to the presidential race, the independent paper claims that after the longest day in elections history, voter participation in the runoff was 35 percent. It explains that polling stations were open for two additional hours yesterday because of the weather, as elections officials hoped the heat would subside in the evening, making voters more likely to head to the polls. Al-Shorouk says that preliminary results indicate that the candidates are neck in neck. In Alexandria, Morsy beat Shafiq by only 4,000 votes, while in Monufiya, Shafiq claims a sweeping victory, the paper says, adding that Morsy’s campaign has declared him the victor.
Al-Shorouk also reports that Ahmed Shafiq’s campaign has filed around 100 reports to the Presidential Elections Commission alleging that Morsy supporters committed violations and fraud during the voting. Meanwhile, Morsy campaigners are accusing the Shafiq team of tarnishing Morsy’s reputation by giving money to voters and telling them to claim they were bribed by Morsy’s campaign with money or food.
Independent daily Al-Watan reports that the Presidential Elections Commission has unveiled a plan to protect the presidential palace against attacks in case Ahmed Shafiq is declared the winner of the race. Elections commission head Farouk Sultan states that the head of a polling station in Manshiyet Nasser arrested three citizens in possession of a CD containing instructional videos and information on inciting a second revolution and breaking into the presidential palace. A source told Al-Watan that authorities received information a month ago about a possible attack on the palace, in addition to potential assaults on police stations and prisons.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the US-based Carter Center told Al-Watan that a delegation from the center met with Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat al-Shater at the group’s headquarters in the Moqattam suburb of Cairo. Sources told the independent daily that meeting participants discussed the Muslim Brotherhood’s situation in light of the recent constitutional court verdict against Parliament.
Egypt’s papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned
Al-Watan: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Youm7: Daily, privately owned
Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned
Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party
Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party
