Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi elected president of EgyptJune 24, 2012 - 18:44 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate, Mohamed Mursi, has been named the fifth president of Egypt after narrowly beating off competition from rival, Ahmed Shafiq, in the hotly-contested presidential elections' runoffs, Ahram Online reported. The result was announced around 4pm at the Cairo headquarters of the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC). Mursi, the head of the Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), launched his presidential campaign shortly after Brotherhood's second-in-command Khairat El-Shater was rejected by the electoral commission in April. El-Shater was disqualified due to a prior criminal conviction under the Mubarak regime. Mursi's win in Egypt's first-ever genuine multi-candidate presidential elections puts an end to a 60-year military monopoly of the position. His predecessors Mohamed Naguib, Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Anwar El-Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, who ruled tthe country since the 1952 Free Officers' Coup, all came from the army's ranks. The inauguration of Mursi, nonetheless, does not imply that the military institution will loosen its grip on power. Recent developments give the military junta extra authorities at the expense of the president's. Egypt's 2012 presidential elections were the second in the country's history. The first Egyptian presidential polls took place in 2005 and saw then president Hosni Mubarak secure a clear victory, which many observers chalked up to massive vote-rigging by the now defunct National Democratic Party (NDP). Mubarak remained in power for 30 years until the military forced his resignation after 18 days of countrywide protests. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |