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Egyptian presidential election result delayed | Egyptian presidential election result delayed |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The result of Egypt's presidential election has been delayed, state television has said. | The result of Egypt's presidential election has been delayed, state television has said. |
It had been due to be announced on Thursday, but the Higher Presidential Elections Commission (HPEC) says it needs more time to look into complaints presented by the candidates. | |
Both candidates, Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq, say they won last weekend's run-off vote. | |
Meanwhile ailing ex-President Hosni Mubarak remains in critical condition. | |
He is said to have had a series of strokes and to be on life-support at an army hospital in Cairo, but there has been no official word on his condition. | |
Earlier this month Mubarak was convicted to life in prison for his role in the death of protesters during the revolution which ousted him last February. | |
Since then there have been a number of reports that his health has worsened, but this appears to be the most serious deterioration so far. | |
However, correspondents say there will be fears that the state of Mubarak's health could be used as a distraction, as Egypt waits for the result of the hotly disputed presidential election. | |
'Limbo' | |
Some 400 election complaints have been filed by the two candidates, according to HPEC, and no new date has been set for the announcement of the result. | |
Nader Omran, a spokesman for Mr Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, told the BBC that the result announcement should not be delayed. | Nader Omran, a spokesman for Mr Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, told the BBC that the result announcement should not be delayed. |
"It will bring more tension to the people - they should end the story tomorrow (Thursday)", he said. | "It will bring more tension to the people - they should end the story tomorrow (Thursday)", he said. |
Mr Mursi's campaign has claimed he won the vote, but at a press conference on Wednesday evening an adviser to Mr Shafiq insisted that official results may hand Mr Shafiq victory. | |
Thousands of people are in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where they have gathered to protest against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) - the military council that has led the country since Mubarak's downfall last year. | Thousands of people are in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where they have gathered to protest against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) - the military council that has led the country since Mubarak's downfall last year. |
The Muslim Brotherhood had called people into the square to protest against recent constitutional amendments brought in by the Scaf. | |
The Brotherhood say they will mount a sit-in until the official results are announced, and until the army gives up the sweeping powers it granted itself in a constitutional amendment last week, reports the BBC's Shaimaa Khalil in Cairo. | |
The atmosphere in Tahrir is more street party than protest, our correspondent adds. | |
But the mood could change quickly, she adds. | |
Correspondents say Egypt appears to be in political and constitutional limbo. | |
'Undemocratic turn' | |
In preliminary comments on the second round of the presidential election, a group of international election monitors headed by former US President Jimmy Carter voiced concerns about the "political and constitutional context" of the vote. | In preliminary comments on the second round of the presidential election, a group of international election monitors headed by former US President Jimmy Carter voiced concerns about the "political and constitutional context" of the vote. |
"I am deeply troubled by the undemocratic turn that Egypt's transition has taken," Mr Carter said. | "I am deeply troubled by the undemocratic turn that Egypt's transition has taken," Mr Carter said. |
On Saturday the Scaf had dissolved Egypt's elected parliament - dominated by the Brotherhood - after a court ruling that last year's legislative polls were unconstitutional. | |
Late on Sunday, hours after the polls closed in the presidential vote, the Scaf issued a constitutional declaration giving itself wide-ranging powers and limiting those of the incoming president. | |
The declaration effectively gave the Scaf legislative powers, control over the budget and over who writes the permanent constitution. | |
The Scaf's moves were widely condemned by activists as amounting to a military coup. |