Egyptians must choose between a Muslim Brother or an ex-military man in a presidential run-off that highlights the stark rifts in a nation united in euphoria when Hosni Mubarak fell 15 months ago, first-round results indicated today.
With most votes counted, the Muslim Brotherhood said its candidate, Mohamed Mursi, had topped this week's polls and would compete in next month's second round with former air force chief Ahmed Shafiq, who served as Mubarak's last prime minister.
The election marks a crucial step in a messy and often bloody transition to democracy, overseen by a military council that has pledged to hand power to a new president by July 1st.
More turbulence could follow if Mr Shafiq is elected and his foes have already vowed to take to the streets if that happens. A victory for Mr Mursi could worsen tensions between resurgent Islamists and the army, self-appointed guardian of the state. Official results are only due on Tuesday, but a senior judge involved in supervising the vote said Mr Mursi and Mr Shafiq were in the lead, based on figures from 90 per cent of polling stations.
Leftist Hamdeen Sabahy lay third, he said. The Brotherhood put Mr Sabahy fourth behind another Islamist, Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, in a close race in which Mr Mursi won 25 per cent of votes.
The election has split Egyptians between those who oppose an effective return to the Mubarak era and those who fear an Islamist monopoly of ruling institutions.The run-off will be held on June 16th and 17th.
"Now Egyptians will have to choose between the revolution and the counter-revolution," Mohamed Beltagy, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood's party, told Reuters.
People shout during a protest against candidate Ahmed Shafiq at Tahrir Square in Cairo today. Photograph: Suhaib Salem/Reuters
But Islamists were slow to join the revolt against Mubarak, and some of the youth who were at its forefront were aghast at the outcome of the first round and the choice they now face.
"To choose between Shafiq or Mursi is like being asked do you want to commit suicide by being set on fire or jump in a shark tank," Adel Abdel Ghafar wrote on Twitter, a networking tool used to devastating effect against Mubarak in the uprising.
Christians and secular liberals anxious about their own freedoms and the fate of Egypt's vital tourist industry will fret about a promised Brotherhood push for Islamic law. But Mr Shafiq's supporters believe his military background and government experience make him the man to restore order and stability so that the battered economy can revive.
If Mr Mursi becomes president, Islamists will control most ruling institutions - but not the military - in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation, consolidating electoral gains made by fellow-Islamists in other Arab countries in the past year.
Reuters