Egypt's ruling military pledges to hand over power

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's ruling military council has pledged to hand over power to the newly elected president, hours after the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate claimed victory in the first free election since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, Belfast Telegraph said.

Maj-Gen. Mohammed al-Assar, a senior member of the ruling council, said the generals would transfer power in a "grand ceremony" by the end of the month, according to the state news agency. He did not give an exact date.

He said the new president will have the authority to appoint and dismiss the government and that the military council has no intention of taking away any of the president's authorities.

But the military council issued an interim constitution that gave the generals sweeping authority to maintain their grip on power and subordinate the nominal head of state.

Although official results have not yet been announced, the Brotherhood released a tally that showed Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood took nearly 52% of the vote to defeat Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq with about 48%.

The count was based on results announced by election officials at individual polling centres, where each campaign has representatives who compile and release the numbers before the formal announcement.

If Mr Morsi's victory is confirmed in the official result expected on Thursday, it would be the first victory of an Islamist as head of state in the stunning wave of pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East the past year. But the military's last minute power grab sharpens the possibility of confrontation and more of the turmoil that has beset Egypt since Mubarak's overthrow.