Brotherhood claims its candidate won 51.7% of the vote; Carter Center voices ‘grave concern’ over political situation in Egypt

In a bid to preempt election fraud by Egypt’s military rulers, the Muslim Brotherhood published the “official” results of the popular vote Wednesday, proving the victory of its candidate Mohammed Morsi over Ahmad Shafiq.

The booklet, titled “the results of the presidential elections – Egypt 2012″ was available for free download on the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party Facebook page. It contains a detailed account of the election results by province, “based on the official tally released by the Central Elections Committee,” the Brotherhood declared.

According to the Brotherhood count, Muhammed Morsi won the elections with 51.7% of the vote or 13,238,298 votes in his favor. Ahmed Shafiq reportedly received 48.3% with 12,351,184 votes.

The Muslim Brotherhood was bracing for a military coup Wednesday as it published photos of its parliament members attempting to enter the People’s Assembly but being denied access by Egyptian security. The Freedom and Justice party published an editorial by Egyptian Al- Jazeera host Ahmad Mansour claiming that the constitutional declaration by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) Sunday constitutes “a military coup par excellence.”

The Carter Center, which monitored the Egyptian elections, released a harsh statement Tuesday expressing “grave concern” over the political context in which the presidential elections were held. The center said that the dissolving of parliament Sunday “calls into question the meaning and purpose of the elections.”

On Tuesday afternoon the Shafiq campaign had still not conceded defeat. In a press conference in Cairo, a spokesman for the campaign said he had data proving Shafiq was still in the lead by half a million votes, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

But Brotherhood officials debated Wednesday whether Morsi should take his presidential oath before the Supreme Constitutional Court as stipulated by the new interim constitution, if acknowledged as victor. After dissolving parliament this week, the military announced that the elected president shall pledge his allegiance before the court.

Most Brotherhood members interviewed in Egyptian press claimed that an oath before the court would constitute recognition of the military declaration and should therefore be avoided. (© 2012 THE TIMES OF ISRAEL 06/20/12)