Source: EGYPT INDEPENDENT

Results from polling stations across Egypt’s 27 governorates began to roll in late Thursday night and early Friday morning following the country’s most competitive presidential poll in history. Voting confirmed analysts’ suspicions that only five of the thirteen candidates face the possibility of advancing into a run-off. Those garnering significant support were the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate Mohamed Morsy, Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, former Brotherhood leader Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, Nasserist Hamdeen Sabbahi, and the former head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa.

2:45 pm: Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh’s campaign has denied reports that the former Brotherhood member conceded and endorsed the Brotherhood’s candidate, Mohamed Morsy, in the runoffs slated for June 16 and 17. The Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party earlier announced that it expects Morsy to compete against former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in the runoffs. “Our operations room is following up the counting, which is still ongoing and we have not issued any statements,” Abouel Fotouh’s campaign tweeted. Saudi satellite channel Al-Arabiya had reported Abouel Fotouh as saying he will support Morsy in a runoff against Shafiq.

Al-Masry Al-Youm reports the results of counting in 24 governorates, in which Morsy keeps first place, followed by Shafiq.

The 24 governorates include Alexandria, Daqahlia, Sohag, Qalyubiya, Monufiya, Beheira, Gharbiya, Minya, Assuit, Kafr al-Sheikh, Qena, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Aswan, Damietta, Ismailia, Luxor, Port Said, Suez, the Red Sea, Marsa Matrouh, New Valley, North Sinai and South Sinai.

Nationwide, Morsy has so far garnered 26 percent of votes (3.76 million). Shafiq has scored 23 percent (3.36 million).

Nasserist Hamdeen Sabbahi follows Shafiq with 20 percent (2.996 million), Abouel Fotouh with 19 percent (2.728 million), then finally former Arab League chief Amr Moussa with 12 percent (179 million).

2.30 pm: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party has announced on its website that its candidate, Morsy, heads the race in Beheira with 392,487 votes, followed by Abouel Fotouh with 334,538 votes, Moussa with 243,471, Sabbahi with 196,504, and finally Shafiq with 171,653.

In Sharqiya Governorate, Shafiq is first with a considerable gap between him and Morsy, his closest rival. Shafiq garnered 627,808 votes, followed by Morsy with 536,634 votes, Abouel Fotouh with 220,945 votes, Moussa with 69,725 and Sabbahi with 21,116.

2:00 pm: In Suez, the judicial committee supervising the election in the governorate announced the final results with Morsy leading. The committee said Morsy garnered 49,719 votes, followed by Sabbahi with 45,500 votes, Moussa with 43,469 votes, Abouel Fotouh with 41,989 and finally Shafiq with 21,816.

1:45 pm: The first round election results are expected to be announced earlier than scheduled on Friday as the Presidential Elections Commission is receiving the final results from many governorates, commission head Hatem Bagato told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Bagato added that most probably the results will be announced a few hours after the commission receives all of them. He also said the final results, after any appeals have been considered, may be announced on Sunday or Monday instead of Tuesday.

1:30 pm: In Monufiya, Shafiq is first with 586,345 votes. After a considerable gap of about 300,000 votes, Morsy is second with 203,503, followed by Abouel Fotouh with 133,788 votes, Sabbahi with 105,727, and Moussa with 35,180.

Shafiq thanked his supporters on his Facebook page, saying: “All thanks and appreciation for your great confidence and great efforts to support me, as well as for everyone who voted for me or other candidates, as a pledge to establish an atmosphere of freedom for our homeland, Egypt.”

In Kafr al-Sheikh, Sabbahi heads the race with 486,662 votes, followed by Morsy with 133,932, Abouel Fotouh with 67,164, Shafiq with 63,395 and Moussa with 22,906.

In the upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag, the final results show Morsy on top with 202,554 votes, followed by Shafiq with 177,418, Abouel Fotouh with 136,175, Moussa with 100,035 and Sabbahi with 47,036.

In North Sinai, preliminary reports said Morsy ranked first as he garnered 26,712 votes, followed by Moussa with 18,166 votes, Abouel Fotouh with 15,555, Shafiq with 8,709 votes, and Sabbahi with 7,601 votes.

12:30 pm: Al-Masry Al-Youm has reported that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy is heading the race after vote counting ended in 20 out of 27 of Egypt’s governorates, followed by Mubarak-era Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.

In the 20 governorates — Daqahliya, Beheira, Gharbiya, Minya, Assuit, Kafr al-Sheikh, Qena, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Aswan, Damietta, Ismailia, Luxor, Port Said, Suez, Red Sea, North Sinai, South Sinai, Marsa Matrouh, and the New Valley — Morsy has 28 percent and Shafiq 21 percent.

Nasserist Hamdeen Sabbahi is third with 20 percent of the votes, followed by former Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh with 19 percent and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa with 12 percent.

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