Although official results are still one day away, the country is replete with certain ties. The only issue is, the certainties cannot coexist. Egypt cannot have two presidents.
Morsi’s campaign took the lead, announcing in the wee hours of Monday that it had certainly, undoubtedly won. Celebrations spilled over into the street and Tahrir Square and those who had not kept their own tallies stood bewildered.
Morsi supporters stressed his victory culminating their claims with a full court press conference early Tuesday. They insist Morsi defeated Shafiq with 52 percent of the votes with two million ballots more than their opponent.
The press conference also revealed “final figures, not guesses or estimates”, with relation to voter turnout which they put at just over 51 percent.
Several observer agencies including the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) reported ion their of findings of the election process that turnout was dampened by the dissolution of parliament. Anecdotal accounts of polling station experiences drew a picture of estimates far in excess of actual turnout.
Rumours ran rampant that Morsi was being so vocal so early about his alleged victory in order to rile public opinion against Shafiq should he attempt to rig the elections in his favour. Shafiq’s campaign was silent for hours but by late afternoon on Tuesday they were ready to deliver their verdict on the results.
They completely denied any claims Morsi’s campaign had made, rebuked them for announcing fraudulent results too far in advance of officials, and finally gave their own version of events: Shafiq was well ahead at 51.5 percent with a lead of over half a million voters.
The Presidential Elections Commission will announce the official results tomorrow.
