Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — The Muslim Brotherhood faces the military regime in the
second round of presidential elections in Egypt.

The Brotherhood’s candidate for president, Mohammed Mursi, was one of
the two finalists in the first round of presidential elections.

Mursi would face former Egyptian Air Force commander Gen. Ahmed Shafiq, a candidate of the military regime, in the run-off in June.

“Egyptians will now have to decide between the revolution and the
counter-revolution,” Brotherhood leader Mohammed Beltagy said.

The first round of elections was said to have been the most transparent in modern Egypt. Up to half of Egypt’s 50 million eligible voters cast their ballots for candidates who also included nationalists and Salafists. The officials results were expected to be released on May 29.

Western diplomats said the run-off election on June 16-17 could
determine the fate of Egypt. Mursi has pledged to make Egypt into an Islamic state and “review” the peace treaty with Israel.

Shafiq, the first prime minister after the ouster of President Hosni
Mubarak in February 2011, has pledged to keep Egypt secular and retain
the treaty with the Jewish state. Diplomats said Shafiq’s election would
guarantee the military’s dominance of Egypt and renew massive protests.

“To choose between Shafiq or Mursi is like being asked do you want to
commit suicide by being set on fire or jump in a shark tank,” Adel Abdul
Ghafar, a reform advocate, said in a statement.

Diplomats expect the Brotherhood, which controls a massive constituency,
to win the run-off elections. But they said the military
regime would seek to reach a deal with the Brotherhood leadership to share
power.

“Right now, neither the Brotherhood nor the military want another
confrontation,” a Western diplomat said. “The most likely scenario is that
Mursi becomes a president with civilian rather than actual military
authority.”

  Egyptian Air Force commander Gen. Ahmed Shafiq, Hosni Mubarak, Muslim Brotherhood to face Egyptian military regime in June run-off, Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Mursi, peace treaty with Israel, Salafists