Egypt Elections 2012: U.S. Warns Egyptian Military After Power Grab

Reuters  |  Posted: 06/18/2012 5:33 pm

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By Andrew Quinn and David Alexander

WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - The United States urged Egypt's military on Monday to move swiftly on plans to transfer full power to an elected civilian government and suggested failure to do so would prompt a review of U.S. ties, which includes billions of dollars in military and civilian aid.

Both the State Department and the Pentagon - which oversees the close military links between the two countries - voiced concerns over moves by Egypt's generals to tighten their grip on power despite a presidential vote aimed at sealing the country's democratic future.

The military power grab represents a dilemma for the Obama administration, which publicly backed the revolution that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak last year but also sees the Egyptian army as a crucial regional security partner.

At the same time, some in Washington may share the Egyptian military's wariness of the Muslim Brotherhood, a popular Islamist group whose candidate some reports said was leading in Egypt's presidential vote.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Egypt was at a critical juncture and the United States was "concerned by decisions that appear to prolong the military's hold on power."

"We call on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to restore popular and international confidence in the democratic transition process by following through on their stated commitments," Nuland told a news briefing.

The United States, the main financial supporter of Egypt's military, will hold the council to its promises for an inclusive constitutional drafting process, the timely seating of a democratically elected parliament, and the swift, permanent transfer of power to a civilian government, Nuland said.

"They've made a commitment to the Egyptian people, and we want to see them meet it," Nuland said.

"This is an evolving situation that we are watching closely. The decisions that are taken in this crucial period are naturally going to have an impact on the nature of our engagement with the government and with the SCAF moving forward," she said.

The result of Egypt's weekend presidential election was in limbo as vote counting continued on Monday, but the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohammed Morsy, claimed victory in the country's first free presidential contest.


CLEAR MARKERS

Nuland said her statement was aimed at "laying down clear markers" for Egypt's military rulers and that the full spectrum of Washington's ties to Cairo could come under review, although she stressed that no decisions had been made.

The Obama administration in March formally released $1.3 billion in military aid for Egypt despite Cairo's failure to meet pro-democracy goals, saying U.S. national security required continued military assistance.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waived congressional conditions imposed late last year that tied U.S. aid to progress in Egypt's transition to democracy following Mubarak's ouster.

Egypt has received more than $1 billion annually in U.S. military aid for years, and Congress has also approved $250 million in economic aid and up to $60 million for an "enterprise fund" for this fiscal year, which ends on Sep t. 30.

Senator Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on foreign aid, said in a letter last week that he had warned the State Department he did not want the money to keep flowing.

"I would not want to see the U.S. government write checks for contracts with Egypt's military under the present uncertain circumstances," said Leahy, who wrote the new conditions for military aid.

U.S. officials had earlier warned that freezing aid could disrupt existing defense contracts and lead to expensive termination costs possibly topping $2 billion.

Political analysts said the latest move by the Egyptian military had forced the United States into a difficult position

"The United States has to decide if it wants to be associated with this counter-revolution by the military," said Michele Dunne, director of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.

"They have to be asking themselves now whether waiving those conditions on the (military) aid was wise."

At the Pentagon, spokesman George Little said the U.S. military believed that "Egypt's transition must continue" and underscored that the two sides had long enjoyed close military relations.

"We want that to continue," Little said. "As to the way ahead on Egypt, we're going to monitor events closely. It's very important to the entire U.S. government and to the U.S military that the SCAF take steps to promote a peaceful transition to democracy and a government in Egypt that is responsive to the Egyptian people." (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Eric Hovde, GOP Senate Candidate: Press Should Stop Writing Sob Stories About Poor People

Posted: 06/18/2012 1:39 pm Updated: 06/18/2012 2:30 pm

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Businessman Eric Hovde is running for the GOP nomination to fill Wisconsin's open U.S. Senate seat in 2012.

WASHINGTON -- Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde (R) says he is sick and tired of reading sad stories about people struggling in the recession. Instead, he wants to see the media focus more on the debt and the larger problems afflicting the country.

Hovde made his remarks during apresentation on Friday to the Greater Brookfield Chamber of Commerce.

During the Q&A portion of the event, Hovde expressed his support for lowering the corporate tax rate, tackling the country's spending problems and lowering the national debt.

Then, pointing to a reporter in the audience, Hovde said he would love to see the press stop covering sad stories about low-income individuals who can't get benefits and start covering issues like the deficit more frequently.

"I see a reporter here," he said. "I just pray that you start writing about these issues. I just pray. Stop always writing about, 'Oh, the person couldn't get, you know, their food stamps or this or that.' You know, I saw something the other day -- it's like, another sob story, and I'm like, 'But what about what's happening to the country and the country as a whole?' That's going to devastate everybody."

In fact, journalists already give short shrift to stories about individuals struggling in the recession.

In May 2011, National Journal looked at the nation's five largest newspapers and counted how many times "unemployment" or "deficit" appeared in their headlines or first sentences. The analysis found that unemployment was covered significantly less than the deficit.

"Mentions of unemployment have been dwindling since they spiked to 154 in the month ending August 15, 2010; over the month ending Sunday, there were 63," wroteNational Journal, adding, "That major newspapers and other media outlets have covered the deficit with greater intensity in recent months should come as no surprise given the focus of the politicians and policymakers they cover. The declining mentions of unemployment are perhaps more surprising, as the issue remains salient for millions of Americans."

Sean Lansing, a spokesman for the Hovde campaign, told The Huffington Post in an email that Hovde was saying "that issues like waste, fraud, abuse and out-of-control government spending are what's really hurting the poor and making the human interest stories possible in the first place, so the press -- and the public at large -- should be focusing on the root of the problem and how we can reform the system."

Hovde, a Wisconsin businessman, is one of four candidates running for the GOP nomination for the state's open U.S. Senate seat. The winner will face Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) in November.

A poll last month by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling showed Baldwin trailing Hovde and former congressman Mark Neumann by 4 percentage points, and former governor Tommy Thompson by 5, with a 4-point margin of error. The poll did not ask about State Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, the fourth GOP candidate in the race.

Below is a chart put together by National Journal displaying the findings:

This article was updated to include comments from Hovde's spokesman.

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Prince Salman named Saudi heir at time of turmoil

By Angus McDowall

RIYADH | Mon Jun 18, 2012 4:17pm EDT

(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has appointed his defense minister, Prince Salman, as heir apparent, opting for stability and a continuation of cautious reforms at a time of challenges for the world's biggest oil exporter.

Crown Prince Salman, 76, has built a reputation for pragmatism and is likely swiftly to assume substantial day-to-day responsibilities from a king 13 years his senior.

Since the death of King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, the country's founding father, the succession has moved along a line of his sons. Salman becomes Abdullah's third heir after the deaths of two older brothers: Crown Prince Sultan last October and Crown Prince Nayef, the interior minister, on Saturday.

The swift decision came as no surprise; analysts had already said they expected Salman to continue the gradual social and economic reforms adopted by King Abdullah as well as Saudi Arabia's moderate oil pricing policy.

At stake is the future direction of a country that sits on more than one fifth of the world's proven global oil reserves.

As crown prince and later as king, Salman will have to tackle challenges ranging from an al Qaeda security threat to systemic joblessness at a time of unparalleled Middle Eastern turmoil, all set against a regional rivalry with Shi'ite Iran.

Like other Sunni-Muslim-led Gulf monarchies, Saudi Arabia is nervous of the rise of Islamist movements such as Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood in the turmoil created by successive "Arab Spring" revolutions, as well as growing discontent among the region's Shi'ite population groups.

"I would predict we will see more Saudi activity abroad, particularly considering what is going on throughout the Arab world today," said Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent former Saudi newspaper editor.

"Prince Salman is pragmatic; I think he will not mind dealing with Islamist Arabs like the Muslim Brotherhood."

As crown prince, Salman will keep the defense portfolio and serve as deputy prime minister to King Abdullah, Monday's royal decree said.

KEY POST

From 1962 until last year, Prince Salman served as governor of Riyadh, a position that gave him more contact with foreign governments than many other senior royals.

That role saw him arbitrating disputes between members of the ruling family, putting him at the centre of the kingdom's most important power structure.

He also had to maintain good relations with senior clerics and tribal leaders, meaning he has experience working with all the main groups that count in Saudi policy-making.

The decree made no mention of the Allegiance Council, a family body that Abdullah set up to ensure smooth successions, which does not legally have to come into play until he dies.

Salman's younger brother Prince Ahmed was made Nayef's successor as interior minister after spending decades as his deputy.

Prince Ahmed is seen as unlikely to alter security policies at a time when Saudi Arabia faces a threat from al Qaeda in neighboring Yemen and unrest among its Shi'ite Muslim minority.

"He was always close to Prince Nayef, but he was more involved in administrative matters, not security. He has vast experience here," Khashoggi said.

Nayef built a formidable security apparatus that crushed al Qaeda inside the kingdom and is a vital element of a global struggle against Islamist militants.

His services arrested thousands of suspected militants and successfully infiltrated Islamist cells, but came down hard on political dissent.

"Prince Nayef was not simply a lone figure on policies that have been pursued but was working as part of a consensus at the highest levels," said Robert Jordan, U.S. ambassador to Riyadh from 2001 to 2003.

Although an al Qaeda campaign last decade was suppressed, its survivors took shelter in neighboring Yemen, where they have built the movement's most dangerous wing, dedicated to toppling the Saudi ruling family.

Analysts lay the credit for the rout of al Qaeda from the kingdom at the door of Prince Nayef's son, Prince Mohammed, whom militants came close to assassinating in 2010.

The continued threat from al Qaeda, and Saudi Arabia's central role in battling the organization, were underscored last month by an announcement in Washington that a bomb plot against Western targets put together in Yemen had been foiled.

(Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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Florida shooter's bank records hint at concealment

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida | Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:26pm EDT

(Reuters) - George Zimmerman, who is being held on a second-degree murder charge in the February shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, and his wife actively sought to avoid government scrutiny of their financial assets, as contributions poured into Zimmerman's legal defense fund, bank statements showed.

The statements were released on Monday by the Seminole County Circuit Court following the arrest on perjury charges last week of Zimmerman's wife, Shellie Zimmerman.

George Zimmerman's $150,000 bond was revoked and he went back to jail earlier this month after prosecutors said the couple had misled the court about their financial status.

They failed to tell the court about more than $135,000 that donors had contributed to help pay for Zimmerman's legal defense, and Shellie Zimmerman falsely testified at her husband's April 20 bond hearing that the family was broke, prosecutors said.

The bank records, from separate credit union accounts, show Zimmerman and his wife made dozens of transactions between April 11 and April 20 just under the $10,000 limit that triggers government scrutiny under federal anti-money laundering laws.

Some were overlapping, as George transferred a total of $74,000 to Shellie, and Shellie transferred more than $85,500 back to George. All were in amounts between $9,000 and $9,999.

Another $47,000 was transferred to an account held by Zimmerman's sister, who was not named by prosecutors.

Among the transactions were 16 deposits in amounts from $9,000 to $9,990 from a PayPal account opened by George Zimmerman. The account was linked to a now-defunct website set up by Zimmerman to raise donations from supporters.

Anti-money laundering laws prohibit "structuring," which is intentionally making multiple transactions just under the $10,000 limit to avoid federal scrutiny.

Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, did not respond to an inquiry from Reuters about the transactions and other newly released evidence. This included phone calls between the Zimmermans recorded at the jail in which they discuss moving money between accounts in increments under what they referred to as "$10."

However, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said the bank statements further undermined Zimmerman's credibility, which he said would be pivotal at his murder trial.

Zimmerman's own lawyers have acknowledged that he hurt his credibility by claiming to be penniless and misleading the court about his finances.

Zimmerman, 28, claims he shot and killed Martin in self defense after the unarmed black teenager attacked him and slammed his head into the ground in a gated community in the central Florida town of Sanford on February 26.

But Crump, who represents Martin's family, said none of the evidence supports Zimmerman's version of events.

"It is George Zimmerman's credibility that is at issue," Crump told Reuters. He said the bank records and other evidence clearly showed that Zimmerman had conspired with his wife "to execute a scheme to hide money" from the authorities.

(Editing By Tom Brown and Christopher Wilson)

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Microsoft tackles iPad with Surface tablet

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES | Tue Jun 19, 2012 12:46am EDT

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp introduced its own line of tablet computers on Monday at a much-hyped press event in Los Angeles, marking a major strategic shift for the software giant as it struggles to compete with Apple Inc and re-invent its aging Windows franchise.

The new tablet line, named Surface, includes a consumer device aimed directly at the Apple iPad, and another, larger machine designed to compete with lightweight laptops. Both include a keyboard that doubles as a cover, and both will be powered by versions of the new Windows 8 operating system.

The move breaks with Microsoft's operating model of the past 37 years, which has relied on computer manufacturers to make and market machines running Windows. It could throw the world's largest software company into direct competition with its closest hardware partners such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Hewlett-Packard Co.

However, the success of Apple in recent years has underscored the benefits of an integrated approach to hardware and software, and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Monday that the company "didn't want to leave anything uncovered" as it rolled out Windows 8.

The new software is the biggest overhaul of Windows in years, and features a new touch-friendly interface dubbed "Metro". It is scheduled to be available for the Christmas shopping season.

The lighter, thinner version of the Surface tablet, built on an Nvidia Corp chip designed by ARM Holdings, will be the first to market at the same time as the general release of Windows 8, and will feature Microsoft's popular Office suite of applications.

It is comparable to Apple's new iPad, heavier but slightly thinner. It has a 10.6 inch screen and comes in 32GB and 64GB memory sizes.

A second, heavier tablet aimed at the new generation of lightweight laptops called "ultrabooks", running on traditional Intel Corp chips, will come in 64GB and 128GB models. That will be available about three months after the ARM version, Microsoft said.

The company gave no details on pricing, except that they would be competitive with comparable ARM tablets and Intel-powered Ultrabooks. They will be on sale online and in Microsoft's new brick-and-mortar stores in the United States.

Microsoft shares rose 0.8 percent in after-hours trading, making up for a 0.6 percent drop to $29.84 in the regular Nasdaq session.

Industry watchers were generally impressed by the devices' specifications, but doubted they were a sure-fire hit.

"I don't see this as an iPad killer, but it has a lot of potential," said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst at tech research firm Forrester. "This raises more questions than answers. The story that Microsoft told today was incomplete. They focused on the hardware innovation but didn't talk about the services, the unique Microsoft assets that could make this product amazing."

Contrary to expectations, Microsoft made no mention of integrating content and features from its top-selling Xbox game console, the Skype video calling service it bought last year, or Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader, its new partner in the electronic books market.

FOLLOWING APPLE

Sales of tablets are expected to triple in the next two years, topping 180 million a year in 2013, easily outpacing growth in traditional PCs. Apple has sold 67 million iPads in two years since launch.

Apple, which makes both hardware and software for greater control over the performance of the final product, has revolutionized mobile markets with its smooth, seamless phones and tablets. Rival Google Inc may experiment with a similar approach after buying phone maker Motorola Mobility this year.

Making its own hardware for such an important product is a departure for Microsoft, which based its success on licensing its software to other manufacturers, stressing the importance of "partners" and the Windows "ecosystem."

"The question is why is Microsoft doing it?," said Michael Silver, an analyst at tech research firm Gartner. "Lack of faith in the OEMs (computer makers)? There's definite risk here as Microsoft increasingly competes with its customers."

Microsoft stressed that "OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT," meaning that it would not hold back any features from other hardware makers' Windows tablets.

When it has ventured into hardware, the Redmond, Washington-based company has had a mixed record.

Apart from keyboards and mice, the Xbox game console was its first foray into major manufacturing. That is now a successful business, but only after billions of dollars of investment and overcoming problems with high rates of faulty units - a problem which was nicknamed the "red ring of death" by gamers.

The company's Microsoft-branded Zune music player, a late rival to Apple's iPod, was not a success and its unpopular Kin phone was taken off the market shortly after introduction.

The company killed off a two-screen, slate-style prototype of a tablet device called Courier later that year, saying the technology might emerge in another form later on.

(Reporting By Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles, Writing by Bill Rigby in Seattle; Editing by Bernard Orrand Richard Pullin)

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Radiohead Toronto show canceled after fatal stage collapse

TORONTO | Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:15am EDT

(Reuters) - A concert by the British rock band Radiohead was canceled after the roof of an outdoor stage collapsed during sound checks and rehearsals before the show on Saturday, killing one person and injuring three others, police and fire officials said.

Radiohead was not on stage at the time, police said, and a spokeswoman for the band confirmed that no member of the group was hurt in the accident, which occurred at about 4 p.m. local time at Downsview Park, about 5 miles north of downtown Toronto.

A Canadian musician named Dan Snaith, who performs under the name Caribou, had been set to open for Radiohead on Saturday, according to his website, but there was no immediate word on whether he was near the stage when the mishap occurred.

Representatives for the sold-out concert's promotion company, Live Nation, declined to comment. Downsview Park officials had no comment on the incident except to confirm that the Radiohead concert had been canceled as a result.

Toronto police spokesman Sergeant Tim Burrows told Reuters that about 20 people were in the direct vicinity of the stage, conducting rehearsals and sound checks, when it gave way.

A police statement issued on Twitter said one man in his 30s was pronounced dead at the scene and a 45-year-old man was taken to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening head injury. It said two other males were treated on the scene for less serious injuries.

Burrows said investigators were still unsure what caused the mishap, which was under investigation by the Ontario Ministry of Labor and the Toronto police.

"The roof part of the stage collapsed," Toronto Fire Services spokesman Captain Mike Strapko told Reuters.

"It's like an arch made out of round piping similar to what they use for scaffolding," he said, adding that the structure was rigged with lighting and other equipment. "So that's what came down and did crush the one individual."

Laura Eldeiry, a band spokeswoman, said Toronto was Radiohead's last stop on its North American tour.

Pictures of the scene posted on social media sites showed a large section of twisted metal scaffolding over and around the stage that had collapsed in the middle of the concert platform.

Radiohead, an alternative rock group led by singer Thom Yorke and famed for such hits as "Creep" and "Paranoid Android," is scheduled to go on tour in Europe this summer.

Their 1997 album "OK Computer" established the band as one of the top musical acts of the decade. The group made waves with its 2007 collection "In Rainbows," which the band ambitiously released first as a digital download while allowing customers to set their own price for it.

(Reporting by Frank McGurty in Toronto and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Anthony Boadle)

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Egypt makes stark choice for president

By Yasmine Saleh and Marwa Awad

CAIRO | Sat Jun 16, 2012 5:22pm EDT

(Reuters) - Egyptians voted on Saturday in the first free presidential election in their history to make what many find an unpalatable choice between a military man who served deposed autocrat Hosni Mubarak and an Islamist who says he is running for God.

Reeling from a court order two days ago to dissolve a new parliament dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, many question whether generals who pushed aside fellow officer Mubarak last year to appease the pro-democracy protests of the Arab Spring will honor a vow to relinquish power by July 1 to whoever wins.

"Both are useless but we must choose one of them unfortunately," said Hassan el-Shafie, 33, in Mansoura, north of Cairo, exasperated like many who picked centrists in last month's first round and now face a choice between two extremes.

With neither a parliament nor a new constitution in place to define the president's powers, the outcome from Saturday and Sunday's run-off will still leave 82 million Egyptians, foreign investors and allies in the United States and Europe unsure about what kind of state the most populous Arab nation will be.

Both contenders may herald further turbulence. An Islamist president will face a mistrustful army, while a victory by a Mubarak-era general will rile the revolutionaries on the street.

There are no reliable opinion polls for guidance, but former air force commander Ahmed Shafik, 70, Mubarak's prime minister in the last days of his rule, surged from outsider status and into the run-off. He has kept up the momentum by playing on fears about rule by an Islamist and the chaos that might bring.

His rival, the Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsy, paints himself as the last revolutionary in the race. He can be sure of solid support from the group's network of disciplined supporters built up over decades. But he has struggled to broaden his appeal.

A result may emerge within hours of polls closing on Sunday. Turnout in the first round last month was only 46 percent. An election official said Saturday's voting had been steady.

For the urban youth who drove the anti-Mubarak revolt, the decision is agonizing, so much so that some of the 50 million voters will spurn both, despite the blood spilt on the streets to end a 30-year rule marked by rigged and meaningless ballots.

Among those staying away was the sister of Khaled Said, a young activist whose death in police custody in 2010 became a cause célèbre which helped ignite the popular uprising: "I am boycotting this sham election," Zahra Said told Reuters.

"What guarantees does Shafik offer that he will not jail or torture youths? During his premiership many youths died and he did nothing," she said in her home city of Alexandria.

"Morsy is no good because he has manipulated the revolution, at times backing the youth and at other times abandoning them."

Yet, whoever wins, the army retains the upper hand. A Shafik presidency means a man steeped in military tradition will be back in charge, just like every president since the end of the monarchy in 1953. If Morsy wins, soldiers can still influence how much authority he has in the yet-to-be-written constitution.

MOOD CHANGE

Many fear the Brotherhood will not accept a defeat quietly and a Shafik win could touch off new unrest on the streets, forcing the army to take sides to impose order and further unsettle a heavyweight state at the heart of a troubled region.

It is a dramatic mood change from the euphoria when Mubarak fell on February 11, 2011. Many are now exhausted and frustrated after a messy and often violent interim period in which the generals have promised to set Egypt on a democratic path.

"If we elect Shafik, I think we can say the Egyptian revolution is over," said Ali Mahmoud Ibrahim, 44, heading to the polls in Cairo. "I will give Morsy a chance to make Egypt a good, Islamic state and to implement Islamic sharia law."

Yet, Shafik has gained traction among those who see him having the army's backing to restore order and revive an economy teetering on the brink of crisis with its foreign reserves drained sharply after tourists and investors packed up.

"He has exactly what we need in a leader. A strong military man to have a strong grip on the state and bring back security," said Hamdy Saif, 22, a student in Cairo's Nasser City district.

There are signs of exasperation with the Brotherhood's push for power after a revolt driven initially by the secular, urban middle class. The Brotherhood secured the biggest bloc in parliament after running for more seats than it said it would. It then reneged on its pledge not to run for president.

The court ruling to dissolve parliament reverses its gains, though that move has helped the group win some sympathizers.

"I was going to vote for Shafik but after parliament was dissolved, I changed my mind and will vote Morsy. There is no more fear of the Islamists dominating everything," said Ahmed Attiya, 35, an IT technician in Cairo's Zamalek district.

Critics denounced the court's parliament ruling as a "soft coup" and compared it to the start of Algeria's civil war, when the army cancelled an election won by Islamists 20 years ago.

But the Brotherhood renounced violence as a means to achieve political change in Egypt decades ago and an Islamist uprising in the 1990s was crushed by Mubarak and the same security forces which have survived last year's revolt intact.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of about 20 generals is led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who was Mubarak's defense minister for two decades. The army controls businesses ranging from real estate to consumer goods factories.

Tantawi sent a letter to parliament ordering it to disperse and barring members from returning to the building, an official in the speaker's office said. The Brotherhood said the council wanted to "take all powers, despite the will of the people".

'DANGEROUS DAYS'

Hardline Islamist violence this month in Tunis, where the first Arab Spring uprising inspired Egyptians, has hardened fears of political Islam, notably among tourism workers, secular activists, women and Christians, who are a tenth of Egyptians.

"With Shafik I know what policy he is going to pursue but Morsy is enigmatic and shadowy like their underground group," said Walid Farouk, a 42-year-old cook, referring to the Brotherhood which was banned for decades under Mubarak.

But some threaten action after a Shafik victory that would disappoint many who massed on Cairo's Tahrir Square last year.

"If Shafik wins, I will be the first one to gather the people and go to Tahrir Square," said Sherif Abdel Aziz, 25, in Fayoum, a city south of Cairo.

The Brotherhood has warned of "dangerous days" and said a Shafik win could wipe out the gains of the revolt. It listed poll violations, including conscripts voting although they are barred. Election officials said any such violators were stopped.

Reflecting its suspicions, one Brotherhood official said many of the group's supporters would vote on Sunday to avoid any tampering with ballot boxes overnight.

International monitors gave guarded approval of the first round vote last month and Egyptian groups listed a range of mostly only minor violations on Saturday, apparently from both sides. In one curio, Egyptian officials reported seizing pens that use ink which disappears within hours. They gave no detail.

Both candidates have sought the centre ground, promising to rule in the spirit of the revolution: "It is not correct that the military council wants to rule through me," said Shafik, seen as a potential successor even in Mubarak's time although he and other contenders were overshadowed by the president's son.

Protesters chanted slogans for and against Shafik as he voted in Cairo. But he did not face a hail of shoes or the kind of abuse he received when he voted in the first round.

Morsy has played down talk of a crackdown on beachwear and alcohol that would hurt tourism and steered away from confrontation with Israel after three decades of cool peace maintained during Mubarak's military-backed rule.

Mobbed by backers after voting in Zagazig in the Nile Delta, Morsy said: "There is absolutely no room for Mubarak's aides."

But both candidates are defined by those who promoted them. Morsy says he is running because God expects him to offer his sacrifice for the nation. Shafik's air force career shadowed that of Mubarak, his elder by 13 years.

(Additional reporting by Samia Nakhoul in Cairo, Tom Perry in Fayoum and Tamim Elyan in the Nile Delta; Writing by Edmund Blair and Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)

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