Egypt will delay the release of results of the presidential runoff because the election commission needs more time to review appeals from the two candidates, it has been reported.
Egypt's election committee said today it may not be ready to announce the results of a run-off presidential vote tomorrow as planned because it was still reviewing appeals from the pair, both of whom claim to have won.
Egyptians voted at the weekend to choose a replacement for Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in a popular uprising last year.
The race pitted the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsy against Ahmed Shafik, a former air force commander who was Mubarak's last prime minister.
"We cannot announce when exactly the timing of the announcement of the election results will be because now we are at the stage of listening to the representatives," said Committee secretary general Hatem Bagato. "The committee will meet afterwards to decide on whether to accept the appeals or not. After that there will be a time set to announce the final result," he added, speaking by phone.
Mr Bagato issued an official statement later in the day with more detail."The committee has decided to continue to examine the appeals, which involves looking at records and logs related to the electoral process, and this will necessitate more time before announcing the final results," the statement said.
Any lengthy delay in disclosing the results risks prolonging uncertainty and stoking tension at a time when it is unclear how big a role the military will continue to play in leading the country.
Yesterday, a US election monitoring group said it was unable to say if Egypt's presidential election was free and fair as it had not been given sufficient access, accusing the military leadership of hampering a transition to democracy.
There were conflicting reports earlier today surrounding the condition of ousted president Mubarak at a military hospital in Cairo. He was “clinically” dead, the Egyptian state-run Mena news agency reported.
Mubarak, who was serving a jail term after being sentenced to life for failing to prevent the killing of 846 opposition protesters during last year’s uprising, had to be revived and have his heart rate stabilised using a defibrillator, according to a prison department spokesman.
Mubarak (84) was on an artificial respirator and transferred from Cairo prison’s hospital to a military hospital.
One of his defence lawyers described his condition as "almost stable" or "on the way to stability" in an intensive care suite, with doctors occasionally using a ventilator to help him breathe.
The former president had ruled Egypt for nearly 30 years, longer than either of the country’s republican presidents, until he was ousted by people power in 2011.
Agencies