CAIRO: With Egyptians anxiously awaiting the official results of the presidential run-off on Sunday, leading political commentator Alaa al-Aswany urged people to not view the tension in the country as a battle between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood. “Did we really have a revolution if Shafik wins?” prominent novelist Alaa al-Aswany said via Twitter, highlighting the fear that former dictator Hosni Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq could be named president. “For the thousandth time this is not a battle between the military and the (Muslim) Brotherhood, it is a battle of the Egyptian people with the military regime that ruled us with an iron fist for 60 years,” Aswany added. The media is pushing the idea that Egypt is a ticking time bomb to the announcement of the election results, and have struck fear in many that a Shafiq victory would throw the country into chaos. The past week has seen Brotherhood and revolutionary groups camp in Cairo's Tahrir Square, protesting the power grabs made by the military over the past 10 days. On Saturday, Christian leaders, led by billionaire business man Naguib Sawiris's Free Egyptians Party lashed out at the Muslim Brotherhood, ostensibly throwing their support behind the military junta in the country. The press conference angered many activists and heightened tension between the revolutionary powers in the country and the military, which on Friday had blamed the Brotherhood, and their candidate Mohamed Morsi, for the uncertainty and political turmoil in the country. “It is really a strange time right now in Egypt and I don't know what is going to happen," said Brotherhood supporter Omar Khaled. He told Bikyamasr.com that if military strongman and jailed dictator Hosni Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq is named president, “the tension and anger could become very strong and people will not allow the military to take complete control of the country. The revolution lives on." The announcement on Sunday afternoon will be read by Farouq Sultan, the head of the election committee. Both candidates' camps have already announced victory and their supporters have already started celebrating. Morsi's campaign have put him the winner by a 900,000 vote difference from the primary results they have gathered. Morsi has already formed a coalition with the revolutionary youth powers and different political parties and groups with the hope of stopping Shafiq from winning, as they see it as a reproduction of the old regime. Thousands of anti-military rule protesters in the country and Morsi supporters are camping in Tahrir Square awaiting the final results for the past three days. Protesters were also showing their refusal to the decree issued last weekend by the ruling military council that limits the power of the president and increases their own. Many activists and commentators have called the move a “military coup" against the revolution.
