Egypt on edge as election results delayed

06-21-2012 • http://www.rawstory.com, By Agence France-Presse

Egypt was on edge Thursday after the Muslim Brotherhood declared an open-ended protest and warned of “confrontation” unless their candidate is named new president to succeed toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak.

The delay in announcing the results, due Thursday, of the June 16-17 presidential vote heightened the Brotherhood’s fears of a “soft coup” by the military, which disbanded the Islamist-led parliament and gave itself sweeping powers.

A senior member of the Islamist movement, which says its candidate Mohamed Morsi won last weekend’s vote, warned the ruling generals of a “confrontation” with the people if rival candidate Ahmed Shafiq was announced the winner.

The electoral commission late on Wednesday said it would delay announcing the result, which had been scheduled for Thursday, as it studied allegations of fraud from both candidates that might affect the final result.