Foreign Secretary statement marks Egypt's "critical moment"

[tabatha]

19 June 2012
Foreign Secretary William Hague has welcomed the peaceful conduct of the second round of the Presidential elections in Egypt as a critical moment in the process towards a democratic civilian led government.

Speaking today, Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “I welcome the peaceful conduct of the second and final round of Egypt’s Presidential elections. This is a critical moment in the process towards democratic civilian-led government in Egypt.

"It is important that whoever wins has done so through a credible, free and fair process, which fully reflects the will of the Egyptian people. I look forward to the announcement of the results due on Thursday. It is vital that the transition leads to legitimate, accountable and democratic governance, underpinned by strong and accountable institutions.

"We were concerned by recent announcements of the dissolution of Parliament and the reintroduction of powers of arrest and detention for the military. The process of drafting a new, inclusive Constitution and the holding of new parliamentary elections should be taken forward as soon as possible. "The UK will continue to support the people of Egypt in their aspirations for greater economic opportunities, political participation, freedom and rights, and to that end work with the Egyptian leadership elected by the people."

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=777069682

[tabatha]

1. Twitter feed on Egypt's two presidents

Borzou Daragahi ‏@borzou
#Egypt: Contact in Cairo told by mokhabarat friend that Shafiq will win by 260,000 votes & to prepare for major unrest when announced

1h آدم ‏@adamakary
The protest in Tahrir is less about #Jan25 and more about Morsi. #Egypt's age-old enemies no longer dealing w each other from the periphery

1h آدم ‏@adamakary
#SPEC has put out a statement telling both campaigns to hold off until official results, that appeals are still being looked into. #Egypt

1h Reem Abdellatif ريم ‏@Reem_Abdellatif
Just left #Tahrir. 100s of ppl r pouring in. Many r there to guard the country from what they say is a "clear military dictatorship." #Egypt

1h آدم ‏@adamakary
#Tahrir is pretty packed, 18:53 local #Egypt http://pic.twitter.com/K1rvtWWI

1h betsy hiel ‏@betsy_hiel
young Brotherhood guy said SCAF refuses 2 hand over power 2 civilian government because they r afraid people will try them in court #egypt

2h betsy hiel ‏@betsy_hiel
Brotherhood just cleared the people out of the area in front of the locked parliament door telling them to go back to #Tahir #Egypt

2h PaulaSlier_RT ‏@PaulaSlier_RT
Tourists in #Egypt have been warned to expect more protests ahead of Thursday's official announcement of last week’s presidential election

3h Liam Stack ‏@liamstack
If you believe the victory claims of both campaigns, #Egypt now has 2 presidents, no parliament, no constitution and 1 very strong army.

3h Hossam عمو حسام ‏@3arabawy
A revolution is Sudan will completely change the balance of power here in Egypt.. That will be a big boost for our revolution. #Egypt

4h شهرزاد ‏@_Schehrazade_
In all the worse case scenarios that I've been envisaging, I have to say this one escaped me. Pure evil genius. Touché, SCAF. #Egypt

4h Egypt Independent ‏@EgyIndependent
#Shafiq campaign claim Shafiq has garnered 51% of the vote and is #Egypt's next president.

5h Charles Levinson ‏@levinsonc
Shafiq HQ has a cow tethered in backyard awaiting slaughter for Shafiq victory celebration #Egypt

5h betsy hiel ‏@betsy_hiel
Statement of Carter Center " I am deeply troubled by the undemocratic turn that Egypt's transition has taken," Jimmy Carter said. #Egypt

5h Gaza Youth Break Out ‏@GazaYBO
The number of voters in the Egyptian election is 25 Million voters. What happened to the other 60 Million Egyptians? #Egypt

6h Sarah Ebeid ‏@SarahEbeid
I liked #Egypt more when we were divided into 2 Groups only: Ahlawy or Zamalkawy!

18 Jun Karl Sharro ‏@KarlreMarks
Introducing the verb To Scaf: to take everything for yourself. As in: I scaffed all the donuts this morning. Or Hitler scaffed Poland #Egypt

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From north (Egypt) to south (South Africa). Africa celebrates with the slaughter of a cow. Just an observation that struck me while reading the tweets.