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Egyptians are voting in a two-day run-off election to choose their first freely elected president.

Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, is up against Ahmed Shafiq, former President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister.

The ruling generals have vowed to hand over power to the winner by 30 June.
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BBC News - Egypt starts presidential election run-off

Voting in the run-off for Egypt's landmark presidential election over Saturday and Sunday should have marked the final stage in the country's tumultuous democratic transition following last year's popular uprising.

Instead two decisions made by the Supreme Constitutional Court have thrown the political scene into a new state of flux and confusion.

A political exclusion law passed by the new parliament barring many former government figures from running for office was deemed invalid.

Had it been upheld, Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's last prime minister, would have had to drop out of the presidential race in which he faces the Muslim Brotherhood contender, Mohammed Mursi.
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Another court ruling dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliament produced by what were widely seen as free and fair elections that took place between November and February.

The law used to organise them was found to be unconstitutional. As the Brotherhood controlled the biggest bloc in the legislature, it was left reeling.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18454005

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Egypt's ruling military has issued a declaration granting itself sweeping powers, as the country awaits results of presidential elections.

The document by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (Scaf) says new general elections can not be held until a permanent constitution is drawn up.

It also gives the Scaf legislative control.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood says its candidate, Mohammed Mursi, has won Sunday's presidential election.
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The Scaf issued its declaration late on Sunday - just hours after the polls closed.

The document effectively gives the Scaf control over the budget and who writes the permanent constitution following mass street protest that toppled Mr Mubarak, reports say. It also strips the president of any authority over the army.

The full details of the declaration are expected to be announced later on Monday.
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Two days earlier, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that last year's legislative polls were unconstitutional because party members were allowed to contest seats in the lower house reserved for independents.

The decision was made by judges appointed under Mr Mubarak.

The dispute has laid bare the fears of some that the military council is trying to consolidate power and resist the democratic changes demanded during last year's demonstrations.

Soldiers have already been stationed around the parliament with orders not to let MPs enter.
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BBC News - Egypt's military grants itself sweeping powers

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Members of the Muslim Brotherhood will take part in protests across Egypt to demonstrate against sweeping new powers taken by the ruling military council.

Over the weekend, the generals issued two decrees dissolving the Islamist-dominated parliament and claiming all legislative power for themselves.

MPs are also expected to try to enter the parliament building on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, with counting in the presidential election run-off complete, both candidates are claiming victory.
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Mohammed Mursi, the head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), said on Monday that he had won 52% of the vote.
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But former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq's campaign team said their figures showed that he was ahead and that the Brotherhood had "terrorised" voters.

Independent observers and state media believe Mr Mursi has won by a margin of about three to four percentage points, or about a million votes.

The official result is scheduled to be announced on Thursday.
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The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) appears to be working on the assumption that Mr Mursi will win, reports the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo.

It has made a series decrees and appointments designed to reduce or constrain the power of the president, and entrench the power of the military.

Despite opposition talk of a "military coup", it may end up being a messy compromise that everyone can live with, our correspondent says.

Voting over the weekend to choose a successor to Hosni Mubarak, who was forced to step down by last year's uprising, was overshadowed by two Scaf decrees.

The first ordered the immediate dissolution of parliament following Thursday's Supreme Constitutional Court ruling that the law governing the recent elections for the lower house was unconstitutional because party members had been allowed to contest seats in the lower house reserved for independents.

Troops were deployed outside the parliament building before the decree was issued on Saturday to prevent MPs gaining access. The FJP and the ultraconservative Salafist Nour party dominate both chambers.

The second decree, which was published after the polls closed on Sunday, amended the March 2011 constitutional declaration and gave the generals complete control over legislation and military affairs until fresh parliamentary elections are held.

The Scaf will also play a significant role in running the 100-member assembly that will draft the country's new constitution.

The new president - who will take office without the oversight of a parliament and without a permanent constitution to define his powers or duties - will be able to form and dismiss a government, ratify and reject laws, and declare war, but only with Scaf's approval.

Muslim Brotherhood members are set to protest against the decrees on Tuesday by taking part in a "million-man march" - the name they give for almost any demonstration in Egypt, our correspondent adds.

At the same time, MPs may attempt to enter parliament to protest against its dissolution. Soldiers have been given orders not to let them in.
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BBC News - Muslim Brotherhood to march against Egypt military

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BBC News - Egypt presidential poll results 'due on Sunday'

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BBC News - Muslim Brotherhood's Mursi declared Egypt president

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Islamist Mohammed Morsi became Egypt's first freely elected president on Saturday, launching his four-year term with a potentially dangerous quest to wrest back from the military the full authority of his office.

The outcome of the impending battle between Egypt's first civilian president and its powerful generals will redraw the country's political landscape after 60 years of de facto military rule.

If Morsi succeeds, the Muslim Brotherhood will likely be emboldened to press ahead with realizing the longtime goal of making Egypt an Islamic state. Otherwise the military — which has been reluctant to give up the power it assumed after
Hosni Mubarak's ousting — will continue its stranglehold on the country for years, maybe decades, to come.

For Egypt's estimated 82 million people, the prospect of a continuing battle between the military and the Brotherhood, the country's largest political group, will only prolong the political instability that has rocked their nation since Mubarak's ousting last year. Egyptians have seen the initial euphoria following the revolution turn into a wave of pessimism amid a declining economy, rising crime and a seemingly endless wave of protests, strikes and sit-ins.
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Morsi sworn in as Egypt's president, promises new era - World - CBC News