Egypt's Morsi warns against tampering with poll result

CAIRO - Agence France-Presse

Mohamed Morsi. AFP photo

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi warned on Friday against any tampering with the election result, after a win was also claimed by his rival ex-premier Ahmed Shafiq.
 
He said his movement wanted neither "confrontation nor violence," as the country nervously awaits news of who will succeed ousted president Hosni Mubarak as leader.
 
Shortly after the polls closed last week, the Muslim Brotherhood said Morsi had won based on the official tallies of judges overseeing polling stations, but Shafiq rejected the result and said he would be declared the "legitimate president of Egypt." A delay by the electoral commission in announcing the result, initially scheduled for Thursday, has raised uncertainty and fears of unrest.
 
"The expected result is known to everyone," Morsi told a news conference. "We will not allow anyone to tamper with the result.
 
"We expect that the result will truly reflect the popular will, which we all know," said Morsi, adding that the thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square were there to "guarantee that will" is respected.
 
Morsi was speaking at a news conference in Cairo, flanked by several liberal and leftist figures.
 
He slammed a constitutional declaration issued by the ruling military council that granted the army sweeping powers, as well as the dissolution of parliament and a justice ministry decision giving soldiers powers of arrest.
 
"We reject all this... and the timing concerns us all," said Morsi.
 
But he pledged that his movement and supporters did not have any plans to clash with the military council or to instigate unrest.
 
"There will be no confrontation or violence or attempts to shake the stability of this country," he said.
 
"The protection of the nation is our highest goal, (including) the protection of its institutions, public and private property.