Muslim Brotherhood wins in Egypt; Military vows to hold on - The Roger Hedgecock Show - Talk Radio

Muslim Brotherhood wins in Egypt; Military vows to hold on

An Islamist backed by the Muslim Brotherhood declared victory as Egypt's first democratically elected president even as the country's military rulers issued a decree that virtually stripped the position of power.

The move by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces -- the military rulers in control since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak -- came Sunday at the conclusion of a two-day presidential runoff, adding to the political turmoil that raised questions about the stability of the fragile democracy.

Even with no constitution, no parliament and, possibly, no power, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi declared victory late Sunday over Ahmed Shafik, who was Egypt's last prime minister in the waning days of Mubarak's regime.

Shafik, though, refused to concede, saying votes were to still to be tallied in his stronghold districts, including portions of Cairo.

The military council will release details of an interim constitutional declaration Monday, said Maj. Mohamed Askar, the council's spokesman.

Under the declaration, Askar told CNN, the military council retains the power to make laws and budget decisions for the country until a new constitution can be written and a new parliament elected.

It is the latest political twist to arise during Egypt's historical elections, following a high court ruling just days before the runoff that invalidated parliament and paved the way for the military council to dissolve the legislative body.

While votes in Cairo, the country's largest population center, were still to be tallied, unofficial results released by the state-run Al-Ahram news website early Monday showed Morsi leading elsewhere in the country with 11.2 million votes, or 52.3%, compared with 10.3 million for Shafik.

In a victory speech, Morsi did not address the move by the military council.

Rather, he used the platform to try to allay fears that he would impose an Islamist state, promising "a civil, patriotic, democratic, constitutional and modern state."

"No one's rights will be left out of it, and no one will dominate over the other. The strong will not oppress the weak, and the weak's rights will not be forgotten because of irresponsibility," he said during a speech at his campaign headquarters in Cairo.

Even as Morsi's supporters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square -- considered the heart of the February 2011 uprising that led to Mubarak's downfall -- to celebrate, concerns were being raised about what the military council's decree meant for the fledgling democracy.

"There is no parliament and there is no constitution," said Hamdi Nayim, who joined the celebration in the square.

"We need to make this constitution very quickly, and we need to fight with the army. ... We will not be satisfied if the army will control us and govern us here."

While the votes were counted, both sides traded allegations of voting irregularities at the hands of the other.

The Supreme Presidential Electoral Committee approved licenses for 53 organizations to observe the elections, including at least three international groups: the U.S.-based Carter Center, the South Africa-based Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa and the Arab Network for Monitoring of Elections.

Shafik's campaign filed more than 100 complaints, alleging "ballot rigging and stuffing."

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