Events have been moving quite rapidly in Egypt over the past two days as the initial count of the presidential runoff have taken place, and there’s been no shortage of media coverage as the story continues to unfold. 

In the immediate aftermath of the race, Mohammed Morsi, the candidate of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared victory on the strength of the Brotherhood’s tallies and the unofficial vote count that showed Morsi leading 52.5% to 4.7.5% over Ahmed Shafiq, his opponent, a former Air Force commander and the final prime minister of former president Hosni Mubarak, representing the ‘felool‘ (remnants) of the old regime.

Shafiq, however, backed by what remains of the technically-illegal National Democratic Party and viewed very much as the favored candidate of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, declared victory himself on Tuesday, throwing the result into further doubt.

The next step was supposed to be the announcement of final results on Thursday.  But on Tuesday, the President Elections Commission announced that it might wait until after Thursday to announce the full results.

Meanwhile:

• Mubarak may or may not have died Tuesday, less than two weeks after being given a life sentence for his role in killing protesters in Tahrir Square in February 2011.
• On Tuesday, the State Council Administrative Court adjourned a lawsuit that could result in the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood.
• Also on Tuesday, Tahrir Square started refilling with protesters in earnest, appalled at what appears to be a ‘soft coup’ by SCAF to remain in power.
• On Monday, SCAF undauntedly announced that it is reviving the National Defense Council, which convenes only in times of crisis (it last met during the days of Mubarak’s ouster in February 2011).
• On Sunday, as two days of voting were finishing throughout the country in the presidential runoff, SCAF published amendments to the Constitutional Declaration announced in March 2011 — among other things, SCAF has granted itself the right to assume parliamentary powers, the right to approve the state budget, the right to veto the president’s decisions about declaring war and the right to intrude on the constitution-writing process.  Morsi and liberal opponents alike both rejected SCAF’s move. Continue reading Morsi and Shafiq both declare victory in Egypt, as SCAF moves put transition in doubt →