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A Nation Polarized: What's Next for Egypt?

Now that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi and Mubarak’s former prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, are officially going to the next round of Egypt's presidential elections, analysts are looking at possible outcomes and their effects. Al-Monitor's Sophie Claudet talks to Egyptian observers about what the new Egypt will look like. 
A woman gets her picture taken with a mural depicting former presidential candidate Amr Moussa (C), presidential candidate, former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq (L), and Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, at Tahrir Square in Cairo May 29, 2012. An attack on the offices of one of the two finalists in Egypt's presidential race has sounded a warning that the last round of voting might spark more violence in a nation polarised by the choice between Mohamed Mursi and Shafiq.  REUTERS/Ammar Awad (EGYPT - Tags:

“I am pleasantly surprised that (leftist opposition candidate) Hamdeen Sabbahi fared so well,” said Egyptian activist and novelist May Telmissany, who supports Hamdeen Sabbahi. She continued, "I still cannot believe that the Muslim Brotherhood fielded a candidate when it had vowed it wouldn’t. As for Shafiq’s victory, I believe the military rooted for him and rigged the vote. He couldn’t have possibly won 5.5 million of the votes. In fact we know now that active-duty military conscripts who are ineligible to vote did actually cast ballots for Shafiq." The leftist Nasserite candidate, who came in third place in last week’s poll, has filed complaints that some 900,000 military conscripts voted for Shafiq, when the law forbids them to participate in an election. 

“We will pressure the electoral commission to re-examine the results but I don’t believe there will be massive protests or renewed violence, at least for now. We have to act in a civil and democratic way,” she said, seconding recent statements by Sabbahi after Shafiq’s headquarters were set on fire by an angry crowd Monday night.

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