According to partial results reported Friday, Egypt's landmark presidential election appears to be on its way to a run-off vote in which Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi could face former regime figure Ahmed Shafik. CNN reports that ballots are still being counted, and the final results of the first round are due Tuesday. Whoever wins the historic vote will become Egypt's first freely elected president.
From CNN [5]:
Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram Online gave Morsi 26.48% of the vote with results in from 25 of 27 provinces, with Shafik, who was ousted President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, close behind with 24.74% of the vote and leftist Hamdeen Sabahy in third with about 20%.
The partial results put Abdelmonen Abol Fotoh, a moderate Islamist running as an independent, and Amre Moussa, who previously served as foreign minister and headed the Arab League, in fourth and fifth places, respectively, Al Ahram Online reported.
Results are still to come from the Cairo and Giza provinces, which could prove decisive for the first round of voting, the newspaper said.
The Muslim Brotherhood earlier told reporters that with about 90% of the vote counted, Morsi -- who heads its political wing, the Freedom and Justice party -- was in the lead, with Shafik in second place.
If no candidate gets a majority of the vote in the first round, the top two will progress to a run-off to be held June 16-17. There were 13 candidates on the ballot, although two withdrew from the race after ballots were printed. . .
But if the first round results in a run-off between Morsi and Shafik, many Egyptians -- particularly liberals and "revolutionaries" -- will be very disappointed, said Khaled Elgindy, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington who is currently in Egypt.
Read more at CNN. [5]
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