Egypt declares Mohamed Morsi president

Mohamed Morsi

Muslim Brotherhood member Mohamed Morsi was on Sunday declared the first president of Egypt since a popular uprising ousted Hosni Mubarak, capping a tumultuous and divisive military-led transition.
Morsi, who ran against Mubarak-era minister Ahmed Shafiq, won 51.73 percent of the vote after a race that had polarised the nation.

“The winner of the election for Egyptian president on June 16-17 is Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-Ayat,” said head of the electoral commission Faruq Sultan.
Morsi’s victory marks the first time Islamists have taken the presidency of the Arab World’s most populous nation, but recent moves by the ruling military to consolidate its power have rendered the post toothless.
Thousands of Morsi supporters who had packed into Cairo’s Tahrir Square erupted in celebration, waving flags and posters of the Islamist leader.
“God is greatest” and “down with military rule” they chanted as some set off firecrackers minutes after the electoral commission formally declared the result.
Across Cairo, cars sounded their horns and chants of “Morsi, Morsi” were heard.
Morsi won with 13,230,131 votes against Shafiq’s 12,347,380, Sultan said. The election, in which more than 50 million voters were eligible to cast their ballot, saw a 51.8 percent turnout.
Military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who took power when Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign in February last year, congratulated Morsi on his win, state television announced.
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