Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Presidential Candidate Announces Victory · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/2012.
Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi declared he had won the Egyptian presidential elections beating Hosni Mubarak's premier Ahmed Shafiq at a 4am Press conference Cairo time today. A Shafiq spokesman responded that Shafiq too won the presidency with 52 per cent of the votes. The two men went neck and neck, and the official results will be announced on Thursday. Netizens, unhappy with both candidates, turn to Twitter to express their views.
Rasha Abdulla notes:
@RashaAbdulla: I'm very happy that Shafiq lost. But too bad Morsi won!!:)
adding:
@RashaAbdulla: If Morsi won, it only means ppl hate Shafiq more than they hate Morsi. It's by no means a sign of popularity!Both were lousy choices!
Bassem Sabry agrees:
@Bassem_Sabry: The only thing spoiling my happiness with Shafiq's apparent loss is, well, Morsi's victory…
And Iyad El-Baghdadi clarifies:
@iyad_elbaghdadi: Non-Arabs lamenting an MB win – that's not what we're celebrating. We're celebrating Shafik losing, not Morsi winning
adding:
@iyad_elbaghdadi:  Someone even commented on Morsi's win by saying “welcome dark ages”. As if we were having a renaissance under military rule
Syrian Kareem Lailah jokes about the contradictory news on who the next Egyptian president is:
@KareemLailah: [Qatari] Aljazeera: Morsi is winning. – [Saudi] Alarabiya: Shafiq is winning. – [Syrian] AddouniaTV: Mubarak is back.
Journalist Sherine Tadros reports on the atmosphere outside Shafiq's headquarters:
@SherineT: Men fighting outside #shafik HQ, tempers flaring and tense as news filters of #MB declaring their win imminently
And Manus McManus draws parallels with Algeria. He tweets:
@ManusMacManus: The #Egyptian Military Junta has learned a lot from the Algerian experience. The art of delegitimising democratically elected institutions
UAE news junkie Sultan Al Qassemi comments:
@SultanAlQassemi: One good thing about Morsy's win is that he would be Egypt's first civilian leader in 60 years (though he is answerable to the MB) #Egypt
He also notes:
@SultanAlQassemi: Semi-Islamic Republic of Egypt
The worry of Islamists taking power is evident in Ganna's tweet:
@GGsaid: Let's all take a moment of silence for all the bars and clubs that will close in Egypt
Meanwhile, Farida Sultan sees no change. She tweets:
@FaridaSul: As long as the SCAF#EgyElections is still in power, the coming president will always be a puppet.
And Reem Abdellatif reminds us:
@Reem_Abdellatif: Court is still set to decide Tuesday on Muslim Brotherhood's legality as an NGO. #Ikhwan could be forced to dismantle. #Egypt #EgyPresElex
In conclusion, Bel Trew writes:
@Beltrew: I think the Twittersphere has finally realised that it doesn't matter who wins #EgyElections – the coming #EgyPresident has no power
For more reactions, check out the hash tags #EgyElections and #EgyPresElex.
This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/2012.