Muslim leaders see positive results as votes are counted in Egypt

In Egypt today, Westerners received bad news, as reports have come out that the Muslim Brotherhood said on Friday its candidate was leading the early count in Egypt‘s first free presidential election that exposed a rift in the nation between supporters of Islamists and backers of men who served deposed autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The Brotherhood said Mohamed Mursi was ahead based on a small sample of results shortly after voting ended in an election that marks the final step in a messy and often bloody transition to democracy, overseen by a military council.

The overall result will not be clear for some time. However, the well-organized Brotherhood had been expected to do well.

None of the 12 candidates in the race is expected to secure the more than 50% of votes cast to win outright. Therefore, Egypt’s 50 million eligible voters are likely to go back to the polls for a run-off between the top 2 on June 16 and 17.

Among Mursi‘s main rivals are the more secular-minded former Arab League chief and foreign minister Amr Moussa and Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak’s last prime minister and who, like his ex-boss, was a former air force commander.

Minority religious figures in Egypt have called the result troubling. Already Coptic Christians, a major population in Egypt have already seen violence aimed at Churches and other Christian building increasing in the run up to the election. However, officials continue to deny the allegations saying that the attacks are actions of fringe groups within Egypt.

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Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com