Islamist wins first free vote for Egypt president

He was chosen in the first genuinely free elections in Egypt for decades that left the nation deeply polarised between supporters of an old regime figure and those eager for democratic change.

It was the culmination of the tumultuous first phase of a transition launched 16 months ago, with the uprising that removed autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak, who was replaced by a ruling military council headed by Mubarak’s defence minister of 20 years.

It marks the start of a new struggle with the military to restore the powers that the ruling generals stripped from the presidency even before the victor was declared.

It was not the outcome desired by most of the liberal and secular youth groups that drove the uprising.

“The revolution passed an important test,” said Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Mr Morsi’s campaign. “But the road is still long.”

Mr Morsi now has to calm public fears that he will push to make Egypt an Islamist state and show that he will represent a broader swathe of the public beyond his own fundamentalist group, the Muslim Brotherhood.

He will also have to try to urgently address the major problems facing Egypt, a sharp deterioration in security and a flailing economy.

Mr Morsi narrowly defeated Mr Mubarak’s last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq with 51.7 per cent of the vote versus 48.3, the election commission said. Turnout was 51 per cent.

Just one week ago, at the moment polls were closing in the runoff election, the ruling generals issued constitutional amendments that stripped the president’s office of most of its major powers.

They made themselves the final arbiters over the most pressing issues – such as writing the constitution, legislating, and passing the state budget – and granted military police broad powers to detain civilians.

A few days before that constitutional declaration, a court dissolved the freely elected parliament, which is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

A huge crowd of Morsi supporters celebrated in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the uprising, as soon as the result was announced on live television. Some released doves with Mr Morsi’s pictures over the square and others set off fireworks.

Mr Morsi’s spokesman Ahmed Abdel-Attie said words cannot describe the “joy” in this historic moment.

“We got to this moment because of the blood of the martyrs of the revolution,” he said at a news conference after the results were announced.

“Egypt will start a new phase in its history.”

The country’s last four presidents over the past six decades have all came from the military. This is the first time modern Egypt will be headed by an Islamist and by a freely elected civilian.

“Congratulations because this means the end of the Mubarak’s state,” said Shady el-Ghazali Harb, a prominent activist who was among the leaders of the protests last year.

Farouk Sultan, the head of the commission, described the elections as “an important phase in the end of building our nascent democratic experience”.

The results of the elections were delayed for four days amid accusations of manipulation and foul play by both sides, raising political tensions in Egypt to a fever pitch.

Heavy security was deployed around the country, especially outside state institutions, in anticipation of possible violence.

The country is deeply divided between supporters of the Brotherhood, liberals and leftists, and other secular forces who fear the domination of the Brotherhood.

The country’s new constitution is not written and the powere of the president are not clear.

Foreign Secretary William Hague congratulated the victorious Muslim Brotherhood.

He urged the new leader to focus on national unity, reconciliation.

“This is an historic moment for Egypt,” Mr Hague said.

Britain looked forward to working with President Morsi and his government to support the process of democratic transition, he added.