Updated 9:53 PM ET
(CBS/AP) CAIRO - The Muslim Brotherhood has declared that its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, won Egypt's presidential election.
Morsi "is the first civilian, popularly elected Egyptian president," the group says on its website.
The declaration was based on returns the Brotherhood reported from 95 percent of the more than 13,000 polling stations nationwide. The returns showed Morsi with 52 percent of the vote, his opponent former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq with 48 percent. A million votes separated the two, which a Brotherhood spokesman said the remaining votes could not overcome the difference for Shafiq.
The figures were from results announced by election officials at individual counting centers, where each campaign has representatives who compile the numbers and make them public before the formal announcement. The Brotherhood's early, partial counts proved generally accurate in last month's first round vote.
The final official result is to be announced by Thursday.
Earlier, as vote counting began in Egypt's election for the successor to Hosni Mubarak, the ruling military issued an interim constitution Sunday that handed themselves the lion's share of power over the new president, enshrining their hold on the state and sharpening the possibility of confrontation with the Muslim Brotherhood.
With parliament dissolved and martial law effectively in force, the generals made themselves the country's lawmakers, gave themselves control over the budget and will determine who writes the permanent constitution that will define the country's future.
That could set Egypt on the path of continued turmoil, particularly if conservative Islamist Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood emerges the victor in the presidential run-off against Ahmad Shafiq, Mubarak's last prime minister. Already, the Muslim Brotherhood was warning that they would launch protests if Shafiq is declared the winner.
Partial results made public by the Muslim Brotherhood showed the race very tight. With just over 80 percent of the more than 13,000 polling stations nationwide counted, Morsi had 52.5 percent of the vote and Shafiq 47.5 percent. The stations counted so far amounted to 22.6 million votes, but it was not known how many votes were left to tally.
Egypt votes for 2nd day to pick Mubarak successor
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Analysis: Egypt still in turmoil after 16 months
The figures were from results announced by election officials at individual counting centers, where each campaign has representatives who compile the numbers and make them public before the formal declaration. The early, partial counts proved generally accurate in the first round of the election last month, which narrowed the field down from 13 candidates to two.
"If it happens that they announce he (Shafiq) is the winner, then there is forgery," said Brotherhood spokesman Murad Mohammed Ali. "We will return to the streets" — though he added, "we don't believe in violence."
Shafiq, a former air force commander, is seen as the generals' favorite in the contest and would likely work closely with them — so closely that his opponents fear the result will be a continuation of the military-backed, authoritarian police state that Mubarak ran for nearly 29 years.
A victory by Morsi could translate into a rockier tussle over spheres of power between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military.
Trying to rally the public in the last hours of voting, the Brotherhood presented a Morsi presidency as the last hope to prevent total control by the military council of Mubarak-era generals.
"We got rid of one devil and got 19," said Mohammed Kanouna, referring to Mubarak and the members of the military council as he voted for Morsi after night fell in Cairo's Dar el-Salam slum. "We have to let them know there is a will of the people above their will."
Sunday night, the Brotherhood seemed to lay the groundwork for a confrontation with the military over its power grab. It rejected last week's order by the Supreme Constitutional Court dissolving parliament, where they were the largest party, as a "coup against the entire democratic process." It also rejected the military's right to declare an interim constitution and vowed that an assembly created by parliament last week before its dissolution will write the new charter, not one picked by the generals.
However, the Brotherhood has reached accommodations with the generals at times over the past 16 months since Mubarak's fall, as it struck deals with Mubarak's regime itself.
(CBS/AP) CAIRO - The Muslim Brotherhood has declared that its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, won Egypt's presidential election.
Morsi "is the first civilian, popularly elected Egyptian president," the group says on its website.
The declaration was based on returns the Brotherhood reported from 95 percent of the more than 13,000 polling stations nationwide. The returns showed Morsi with 52 percent of the vote, his opponent former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq with 48 percent. A million votes separated the two, which a Brotherhood spokesman said the remaining votes could not overcome the difference for Shafiq.
The figures were from results announced by election officials at individual counting centers, where each campaign has representatives who compile the numbers and make them public before the formal announcement. The Brotherhood's early, partial counts proved generally accurate in last month's first round vote.
The final official result is to be announced by Thursday.
Earlier, as vote counting began in Egypt's election for the successor to Hosni Mubarak, the ruling military issued an interim constitution Sunday that handed themselves the lion's share of power over the new president, enshrining their hold on the state and sharpening the possibility of confrontation with the Muslim Brotherhood.
With parliament dissolved and martial law effectively in force, the generals made themselves the country's lawmakers, gave themselves control over the budget and will determine who writes the permanent constitution that will define the country's future.
That could set Egypt on the path of continued turmoil, particularly if conservative Islamist Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood emerges the victor in the presidential run-off against Ahmad Shafiq, Mubarak's last prime minister. Already, the Muslim Brotherhood was warning that they would launch protests if Shafiq is declared the winner.
Partial results made public by the Muslim Brotherhood showed the race very tight. With just over 80 percent of the more than 13,000 polling stations nationwide counted, Morsi had 52.5 percent of the vote and Shafiq 47.5 percent. The stations counted so far amounted to 22.6 million votes, but it was not known how many votes were left to tally.
Egypt votes for 2nd day to pick Mubarak successor
Voting begins in Egypt's presidential runoff
Analysis: Egypt still in turmoil after 16 months
The figures were from results announced by election officials at individual counting centers, where each campaign has representatives who compile the numbers and make them public before the formal declaration. The early, partial counts proved generally accurate in the first round of the election last month, which narrowed the field down from 13 candidates to two.
"If it happens that they announce he (Shafiq) is the winner, then there is forgery," said Brotherhood spokesman Murad Mohammed Ali. "We will return to the streets" — though he added, "we don't believe in violence."
Shafiq, a former air force commander, is seen as the generals' favorite in the contest and would likely work closely with them — so closely that his opponents fear the result will be a continuation of the military-backed, authoritarian police state that Mubarak ran for nearly 29 years.
A victory by Morsi could translate into a rockier tussle over spheres of power between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military.
Trying to rally the public in the last hours of voting, the Brotherhood presented a Morsi presidency as the last hope to prevent total control by the military council of Mubarak-era generals.
"We got rid of one devil and got 19," said Mohammed Kanouna, referring to Mubarak and the members of the military council as he voted for Morsi after night fell in Cairo's Dar el-Salam slum. "We have to let them know there is a will of the people above their will."
Sunday night, the Brotherhood seemed to lay the groundwork for a confrontation with the military over its power grab. It rejected last week's order by the Supreme Constitutional Court dissolving parliament, where they were the largest party, as a "coup against the entire democratic process." It also rejected the military's right to declare an interim constitution and vowed that an assembly created by parliament last week before its dissolution will write the new charter, not one picked by the generals.
However, the Brotherhood has reached accommodations with the generals at times over the past 16 months since Mubarak's fall, as it struck deals with Mubarak's regime itself.