Egypt's Brotherhood calls for protests

19 Jun 2012, 5:50 am   -   Source: AAP
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Egypt's military insists it will transfer power to the new president, as Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi declared victory.

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Islamist candidate Mohammed Morsi has declared victory in Egypt's first free presidential election since Hosni Mubarak's ouster 16 months ago, and called for protests after what appeared to be a military-power grab in the polls' closing stages.

Just as polls were closing, the ruling military council issued constitutional amendments that gave sweeping authority to maintain its grip on power and subordinate the nominal head of state.

After the last-minute power grab on Sunday night, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) pledged on Monday to honour its promise to hand over power to the newly elected president by the end of this month. But the constitutional amendments stripped the president of almost all significant powers.

The Brotherhood insisted the Islamist-dominated parliament still had the power to legislate.
  
Its political arm said the Islamists would take part in "all popular activities against the constitutional coup and the dissolution of parliament, beginning on Tuesday," when activists have called for mass demonstrations.
  
"The parliament remains valid and holds legislative power and control," the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) said in a statement.

The military decreed that it will have legislative authority after a court dissolved parliament, it will control the drafting of a new constitution and will not allow civilian oversight of its significant economic interests or other affairs.

Morsi represents the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group which has emerged as the most powerful political faction since the uprising.

The Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party rejected the constitutional declaration, saying it was no longer within the authority of the military council to issue such a decree with less than two weeks left for the transfer of power.

The constitutional declaration made almost simultaneously with polls closing on Sunday night was the third major blow in a week to hopes for a democratic transition that arose from the uprising.

On Wednesday, the military gave itself broad powers to arrest civilians even on minor offences such as traffic violations. And on Thursday, a court stacked with Mubarak-era appointees dissolved parliament.

Major General Mohammed al-Assar, a senior member of the ruling council, said the generals would transfer power in a "grand ceremony". He did not give an exact date or mention Morsi by name.

He said the new president will have the authority to appoint and dismiss the government and that the military council has no intention of taking away any of the president's authorities.

Though official results have not yet been announced, the Brotherhood released a tally that showed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood took nearly 52 per cent of the vote to defeat Mubarak's last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq with about 48 per cent in a very close race.

SHAFIK DISPUTES

Representatives of Mursi's rival Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force chief and ex-prime minister under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, disputed the Brotherhood's victory claim, calling it an "act of piracy."

Shafiq campaign officials refused to concede victory, saying their figures showed their man was ahead.
  
"It's a stolen victory because you can't claim to have won a presidential election while the polling stations are still closing," Shafiq campaign manager Ahmed Sarhan told reporters.
  
"It's an act of piracy to claim victory using totally false figures," he said, adding that preliminary results obtained by the campaign showed Shafiq "still ahead in the vote, with between 51 and 52 percent."
 

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