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News Coverage

prepared for: The European Union delegation

to Egypt

Disclaimer:

“This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The

contents of this document are the sole responsibility of authors of articles and under no

circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of IPSOS or the European Union.”

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Thematic Headlines

Domestic Scene

Armed Forces Respect People’s Choice El-Baradei: President Will be Elected With No Clear Powers Islamists to Give Support to Morsi Shafik: Egypt’s New Erdogan Sabahy: A Presidential Elections Surprise Israel: Sabahy is a Surprise in Egypt’s Presidential Elections Morsi to Face Shafik in Egypt’s Presidential Election Runoff Bishop Bakhomious: Promoting for Presidential Candidates Will be Punished Political Forces Blame Aboul Fotouh and Sabahy for Shafik’s Success Ghonim: Shafik’s Critics Are Politically Immature MB to Hold Secret Negotiations with Sabahy

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Newspapers (26/05/2012)

Page: 3. Author: Abd Al-Gawad Tawfik.

Armed Forces Respect People’s Choice

The Armed Forces reaffirmed its support to the Egyptian people in choosing the

country’s new president freely. The military generals confirmed that they will support the new president regardless of his political background to achieve the country’s desired goals.

The official Facebook page of the Armed Forces issued a letter yesterday confirming that

the process of presidential elections prove the good intentions of SCAF and deny all the rumors and criticism that questioned the military institution’s integrity and patriotism.

“The Armed Forces is now returning the favor to the Egyptian people who supported

the military institution during the 1973 war. The Armed Forces will help the nation reach democracy and freedom and build a bright future for the young generations by ensuring the integrity and transparency of presidential elections,” said the letter.

Similar news was reported in: Al-Gomhoria: Page 3.

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Page: 3. Author: Basant Zein Al-Din.

El-Baradei: President Will be Elected with No Clear Powers

Dr. Mohamed El-Baradei, former chief of the IAEA, said that drafting the country’s constitution is more important than choosing the new president. He hailed the fact that the “culture of fear” which dominated the political life in Egypt has now come to an end.

In an interview with the Associated Press, El-Baradei also said “he does not intend to

run for Egyptian public office again after quitting the race for the presidency last year.” "My priority is to make sure that we put the country on the right track. I think I am

much more effective working outside the system," said El-Baradei.

Similar news was reported in: Al-Ahram: Page 3.

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Page: 4. Authors: Ahmed El-Dawi and Amr Abd Al-Gawad.

Islamists to Give Support to Morsi

Reactions of Islamists varied to the preliminary results of presidential elections which

indicate a runoff between the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate Mohamed Morsi and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik.

Dr. Tareq Al-Zomor, spokesman for Al-Jama’a Al-Islamiyya, said they will support the

MB’s presidential candidate during the runoff to prevent figures of the former Mubarak regime from reaching power again. He said that Shafik’s success was not surprising after the ruling regime succeeded in tarnishing the image of the revolution throughout the past year and a half.

Dr. Yosri Hamad, spokesman for Al-Nour Salafi Party, said there is no other alternative

but to unite around the only Islamist candidate left to save the country from the old regime remnants.

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Page: 1. Author: Not mentioned.

Shafik: Egypt’s New Erdogan

For the first time in Egypt’s long history, this great nation practiced its right to choose

the new president through free elections. Egypt has set the example for other countries around the world by holding integral and transparent presidential elections.

The great Egyptian people gave the world a lesson on democracy and freedom. The

great Egyptian judicial authority ensured the validity and integrity of presidential elections, in a way that might not even exist in democratic countries.

Our brave Armed Forces protected our borders against foreign intervention during

these unstable conditions and protected the people’s freedom and granted them the right to express their will. They did not interfere in the course of elections in any way and they limited themselves to guarding the electoral process.

Air Force Commander Ahmed Shafik is now closer to the presidency than ever. People

see him as Egypt’s new Erdogan who will lead the country to development and prosperity. Shafik is the best presidential candidate who can improve the country’s conditions and restore stability. Many people fear that the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate Mohamed Morsi will turn Egypt into another Afghanistan if he came to power. Morsi will terrorize people in the name of religion, ban freedom of expression and thought, and exclude women from public life.

The best solution for Egypt’s current political crisis is to adopt a parliamentary political

regime and dissolve the current parliament after the Muslim Brotherhood’s unprecedented failure.

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Pages: 1, 2. Author: Ihab Al-Mallah.

Sabahy: A Presidential Elections Surprise

“Can we consider the preliminary elections results as something expected or as a real surprise?” asked Al-Tahrir journalists. The results of presidential elections revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi has won the first round of presidential elections with 5.650.152 votes followed by former prime minister Ahmed Shafik who gained 5.347.542 votes. Both candidates will go through the runoff scheduled on June 4.

The results represented the worst case scenario for many Egyptians who did not want to

choose between an Islamist candidate and an old regime figure. Many people are left now with no real choice as the two pro-revolution presidential candidates; Hamdeen Sabahy and Dr. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, are out of the race.

Yet Hamdeen Sabahy achieved a real victory by gaining this huge amount of votes

despite of the fact that his presidential campaign was limited in budget and scale compared to other candidates. He succeeded in gaining the majority of votes in Cairo, Alexandria, Kafr Al-Sheikh and a large number of constituencies in other governorates. This proves that his campaign slogan “One of Us” reached the hearts of millions of Egyptians.

Dr. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh received a major unexpected blow as he came in

fourth in the presidential race. Observers said that his campaign was the most sophisticated gathering people from various political backgrounds and fields. It seems obvious that Aboul Fotouh performance was negatively affected by the debate previously held between him and Amr Moussa.

Preliminary results of presidential elections reveal that Egypt’s new president will be

one of two candidates; Mohamed Morsi or Ahmed Shafik.

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Page: 9. Author: Mohamed Attia.

Israel: Sabahy is a Surprise in Egypt’s Presidential Elections

Failure to come out with any expectations on the presidential candidate who is most

likely to win elections was a predominant feature in Israeli newspapers. Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote that “any effort to predict the results of the Egyptian

presidential election is doomed,” and described the presidential elections in Egypt as “a sphinx-like riddle.” Haaretz journalists also wrote, “The Arab Spring has made it clear to many that public opinion in the Middle East is an unknown quantity. This applies not only to Israeli intelligence but also to ostensibly knowledgeable journalists and experts.”

Yedioth Ahronoth also wrote that Sabahy was a real surprise in the presidential race as

he achieved victory in areas dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Similar news was reported in: Youm 7: Page 7.

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Pages: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Authors: Mohamed Basal (and others).

Morsi to Face Shafik in Egypt’s Presidential Election Runoff

The main polling stations across Egypt’s various governorates have finished compiling

the results they received from sub-stations. Results confirmed that a runoff will take place between the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik.

Senior judicial sources in different governorates told Al-Shorouk newspaper that Morsi

came in first place with 5.432.673 votes, followed by Shafik who won 4.894.624 votes, while Hamdeen Sabahy came in third with 4.460.096 votes, Dr. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh ranked fourth with 3.855.746 votes, and Amr Moussa came in fifth position with 2.250.000 votes.

All Egypt’s governorates finished the vote counting process early; only Cairo and Giza

took longer due to their large populations. Hamdeen Sabahy succeeded in winning the majority of votes in the capital; however,

this did not shrink the gap of votes separating him from Ahmed Shafik’s second position. Cairo’s votes came as follows: Sabahy 993.464, Shafik 744.128, Morsi 579.715 and Aboul Fotouh 553.200 votes.

Source inside the Presidential Elections Commission confirmed that the voter turnout was 47%; the percentage increased in urban areas to reach 60% while it did not exceed 40% in rural areas.

Secretary General of the Presidential Elections Commission Senior Judge Hatem Bagato said the commission received lists of voting results from the main polling stations and sub-stations from 22 governorates and the process of counting these votes continue to confirm the exact number of votes gained by each candidate. Bagato said that they have received only one appeal filed by Ahmed Shafik on the results of one of the sub-stations in Shoubra, Cairo.

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Page: 1. Author: Ahmed Al-Sa’dawi.

Bishop Bakhomious: Promoting for Presidential Candidates Will be Punished

The Interim Coptic Pope Bishop Bakhomious told Al-Shorouk newspaper that he will

punish any member of the clergy who was involved in promoting for one of the presidential candidates. He said that his door is open for anyone who has evidence that proves that any member of the clergy tried to influence the votes of Coptic Christians.

Mina Mansi, a member of the National Awareness Committee in Alexandria, said that

Bishop Armia, secretary of the late Pope Shenouda III, and Bishop Boula, head of the Clerical Council of the Coptic Orthodox Church and bishop of Tanta, both indirectly influenced Christians to vote for former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik. Bishop Boula held a serious of meetings with young people working in the Citizenship Committee of the Church and asked them to mobilize people to vote for one of the presidential candidates; Ahmed Shafik.

Suleiman Shafik, political activist, said that a large percentage of Christians’ votes went

to Shafik because many Coptic Christian leaders directed people to vote for him.

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Page: 3. Authors: Eman Ali, Rehab Abdallah (and others).

Political Forces Blame Aboul Fotouh and Sabahy for Shafik’s Success

Various political forces and movements described the preliminary results of presidential elections as “shocking and disappointing.” They blamed the two pro-revolution presidential candidates Hamdeen Sabahy and Dr. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh for dividing the voting blocs and allowing Shafik to come in second.

Dr. Ayman Nour, famous opposition leader, confirmed that results are shocking and

said that the two candidates have taken us to this trap because they refused to unite their efforts.

Revolutionary youth expressed their discontent and shock at the preliminary results of

elections. Tareq Al-Khouli, April 6 spokesman, said that many revolutionary forces are now considering the decision to boycott the runoff because they will not support the MB’s candidate and they are totally against allowing Shafik to run for presidency.

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Page: 7. Author: Not mentioned.

Ghonim: Shafik’s Critics Are Politically Immature

Wael Ghonim, political activist and co-founder of the Masrena movement, criticized those who attacked Ahmed Shafik for being a figure of the old regime. He confirmed that the results of presidential elections should be respected because it was characterized by integrity and transparency. He also expressed his resentment of those who undermined people who voted for Shafik and described them as “politically immature.”

“We can only blame ourselves for the results of presidential elections. We failed to reach

out and convince many people,” said Ghonim. He confirmed that the presidential election reflects the will of the people and it should be respected even if revolutionaries disagree with its results.

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Page: 7. Author: Saber Shawkat.

MB to Hold Secret Negotiations with Sabahy

Akhbar Al-Youm received information confirming that the Muslim Brotherhood is

currently holding secret deliberations to reach an agreement on offering Hamdeen Sabahy the vice president’s position, if the official results of presidential elections confirmed that the runoff will be held between Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafik.

A source close to the Muslim Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide said negotiations will be

held with Sabahy to ensure the votes of revolutionary forces because the MB cannot win the majority of votes on their own during the runoff.

Dr. Mohamed Morsi will issue a statement as soon as the official results of the first

round of elections are declared.

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TV Coverage (25/5/2012)

Program: Hona Al-Asema Channel: CBC Host: Lamis Al-Hadidy

Vote count in 90% of the main polling stations showed that presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi garnered 5.4 million votes, Ahmed Shafiq 5.3 million votes and Hamdeen Sabahi 4.6 million votes.

Guest: Mohamed Tosson, head of the Shura Council Legislative Committee, said the runoff will be between presidential candidates Morsi and Shafiq, adding he hoped it would be between Morsi and Sabahi for the sake of everyone.

Guest: Montaser Al-Zayat, a Cassation Court lawyer, said whatever the elections results are “I’m proud of the democracy”.

Guest: Essam Sheiha, Al-Wafd Party board member, said Wafd Party supported presidential candidate Amr Moussa.

Guest: MP Basel Adel.

Program: Sabah Al-Kheir Ya Masr Channel 1”State TV”

The vote count started and the final results will be announced on Tuesday. The runoff will be between the two candidates with the largest number of votes.

Israel is terrified from Egypt’s presidential elections results.

News Channel 2”State TV” Time: 26:00:00

The High Presidential Elections Commission (HPEC) head said contests can be submitted after 24 hours from announcing the final results of the polls and they will be reviewed instantly.

Initial indicators show that presidential candidates Shafiq, Morsi, and Sabahi got the largest number of votes.

Presidential candidate Morsi got 26.38% of the total votes, Shafiq 23% and Sabahi 21.53%.

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Contests against Egyptians expatriates’ voting results in Saudi Arabia were rejected.

Presidential candidate Morsi got the first place and Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh got the second place in the votes of Egyptian expatriates.

Program: Yesed Sabahak Channel 2”State TV” Host: Sarah Al-Helaly

The HPEC head said voter turnout was around 50%. Counselor Hatem Begato, HPEC Secretary General, said the Commission filed reports to

the public prosecution against those who abstained from voting in the presidential elections.

Former US President Jimmy Carter praised the presidential elections.

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Radio Coverage (25/5/2012)

News Channel: Radio Masr Time: 25:00:00

Vote counting continues in the sub-stations after voting ended, and media channels and candidates’ representatives were present during the process.

Presidential Elections Commission said the voter turnout in the presidential elections is

around 50%.

The commission said they will receive the contestations on the elections results within 24 hours of announcing the first round’s final results.

International monitoring agencies praised the elections.

News Channel: Al-Shark Al-Awsat

SCAF said that the presidential election is transparent and citizens will be able to choose their new president freely. 25:00:00

The Head of the Presidential Elections Commission said that appeals can be submitted after 24 hours from announcing the results. 25:00:00

Contestations on Egyptians expatriates voting results were rejected. 17:00:00

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Internet Coverage (26/5/2012)

Facebook We are all Khaled Saeed

Movie director Amr Salama: The elections have proved that the people are ready for democracy with unready politicians.

Yesterday as we were preoccupied with the Egyptian presidential elections, the thugs of the criminal Bashar al-Assad killed 90 Syrians, including 25 children, in what is dubbed now a massacre under cowardly Arab and international silence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz8UUCll46E Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh and Hamdeen Sabahi turn down invitation by the Freedom and Justice Party with political powers.

Al-Akhbar front page: Total count is 108%. https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/579505_417101998339670_1405583994_n.jpg

Egyptian Cabinet:

Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri assigned Major General Shawqi Rashwan with taking

over the Sinai development authority, which will work on resolving all pending issues

related to the development of Sinai.

The Muslim Brotherhood

Press Release No. 11 of Dr. Morsi Central Campaign

Preliminary results of the Egyptian presidential election put our candidate Dr. Morsi ahead of all rivals in the race for Egypt’s top job. On this historic occasion, we offer our sincere thanks and deep gratitude to the great people of this country, who placed their confidence in the Brotherhood’s candidate, despite the charged atmosphere and the great difficulties. We will certainly accept whatever outcome the will of the people brings. Although we have observed certain violations and irregularities in the election process, we are on the threshold of a new phase, we must regain confidence in ourselves and in our ability to establish a democracy based on peaceful circulation of power. It was the blood of the martyrs and the wounded that ignited and fueled the flames of the

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revolution and gave it energy, self-confidence and unity to advance this homeland and elevate this nation. Today, we need to close ranks once again, so the revolution would not be hijacked from us all, so the pure blood of honorable martyrs would not be lost in vain. We therefore call on all patriotic political players to unite and get together to protect the revolution and fulfill the promise we made to the masses of our great people. We hereby announce our initiative to invite all patriotic political and revolutionary forces and stakeholders for serious national dialogue, to discuss Egypt’s fate in the light of the challenges facing us all. We must, together, seek out ways to save the blessed revolution. This call for dialogue and cooperation stems from our appreciation of the current situation and our great respect for the candidates who were keen to compete with us in the presidential race, and will certainly be even keener now to compete with us in our attempt to rescue Egypt and save the revolution. Today, we face desperate attempts to replicate the old system of governance in new attire that might fool some, but the masses of our people and the enlightened revolutionary forces will not give these the opportunity; and just as they were able to topple Mubarak, they are now quite capable of removing the remnants of his regime together with its crumbling symbols. In conclusion, we thank every citizen who voted for revolutionary Egypt, strong Egypt, modern Egypt, and comprehensive renaissance. We stress that we are still in the middle of the road and we must not lose our enthusiasm, our ability and our unity. We call on the masses of our great people to participate positively in the run-off in June, in order to achieve the goals of the revolution. God bless you.

Twitter Wael Abbas:

Al-Dostor after being bought by el-Sayed el-Badawi. https://p.twimg.com/AtzNQXeCAAALQRA.jpg

The official results are tomorrow not Tuesday.

What is really scary after the news of Ahmed Shafiq and Mohamed Morsi, is the huge propaganda for the Nasserist, the Fascist and the servant of Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gaddafi: Hamdeen Sabahi!!!

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Iyad elbaghdadi:

While we were busy with our #Egypt elections marathon, #Assad commited another gruesome massacre. #Syria

I don't know what to say, I don't know what to feel. My heart feels like a black hole. #Syria

Hope to see you later today. Keep #Syria in your thoughts.

Just wrote an article "Ten Lessons from #Egypt's Elections". Looking for a good platform. HuffPo? Global Voices? Neither?

Gsquare86:

I am struggling with the fairness of these #Egyelections whether Morsi or Shafiq. I’m still questioning what will SCAF do if Morsi wins?

It is hard to believe that SCAF won’t rig it, even subtly, if they see Morsi might win. I don’t trust SCAF or these #Egyelections

Sometimes with the Islamists , never with the state! #EgyElections #RevSoc #NoShafiq

Either way we are f***..tough choices #Egypt

I can NOT stand Ezz Eldin Choukri !!! He is the last person to speak about this revolution. Opportunist bastard!!!

Honestly Twitter is just a bubble, I’m not minimizing those who boycott, i did,but millions & millions of Egyptians will VOTE no matter what.

The question that i am struggling in answering: Will SCAF let Morsi win? I still question how “free & fair” are these #Egyelections

Islamophobia might kill revolutionaries but then if Islamophobia didn’t Shafiq will do the job

Really Egypt is between a rock and a hard place...how the f*** did we end up here after all this ?!

The Mubarak regime was successful in rooting the fear of the “other” in most of Egyptians; we are paying the price now...may u rot in hell!

Many revolutionaries suffer from Ikhwanphobia which they have their reasons but we are at a critical moment whether we admit it or not.

Whether we want to admit it or not 50% of eligible voters make these circus #Egyelections legitimate with all the rigging & SCAF engineering.

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Publication overview

Al-Ahram: Egyptian state-run official daily newspaper

Founded in 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya (English: The Egyptian Events, founded 1828). It is majority owned by the Egyptian government.

Al-Akhbar: Egyptian state-owned semi-official daily newspaper

It was founded in May 1952 as a part of Akhbar El Yom.

Al-Gomhoria: Egyptian state-owned daily newspaper

An influential state-owned Egyptian Arabic language daily newspaper. It was established in 1954.

Al-Shorouk: Egyptian daily independent newspaper

Is a prominent Arabic newspaper published in Egypt [1] and several other Arabic nations It is a daily independent newspaper, covering mainly politics, militant affairs and sport.

Al-Masry al-Yom: Independent daily newspaper

On 7 June 2004, it published its first edition. The paper initially circulated primarily amongst Cairo’s intellectual elite, providing objective news coverage in the belief that good news would beat sensationalist reporting found in other Egyptian print media. After 3 years, it was challenging Al-Ahram for the status of being the national paper of record. Though

Tahrir: Daily independent newspaper

Dostor: Daily independent newspaper

Yom 7: Daily independent newspaper

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Table of Content: Newspapers ………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………3-26

Al Ahram Newspaper Armed Forces Respect People’s Choice……………………………………………………………………………………….…3

Al masry al youm Newspaper El-Baradei: President Will be Elected with No Clear Powers……………………………………………………………….4 AL Gomhoria newspaper Islamists to Give Support to Morsi …………………………………………………………………………………………….5

Al dostour Newspaper Shafik: Egypt’s New Erdogan ………………………………………………………………………………..…………………..6

Al Tahrir Newspaper… Sabahy: A Presidential Elections Surprise…………………………………………………………………………………...…..7 Israel: Sabahy is a Surprise in Egypt’s Presidential Elections ……………………………………………………...…………8

Al Sherouk Newspaper.. Morsi to Face Shafik in Egypt’s Presidential Election Runoff …………………………………………………..…………….9 Bishop Bakhomious: Promoting for Presidential Candidates Will be Punished………………………..………………….10

Al youm al 7 newspaper Political Forces Blame Aboul Fotouh and Sabahy for Shafik’s Success………………………………….....………………11

Al Akhbar Newspaper Ghonim: Shafik’s Critics Are Politically Immature …………………………………………………………………………..12 MB to Hold Secret Negotiations with Sabahy………………………………...……………………………………………….13

TVCoverage…………………………………………………………..………...……...…...……...……………14-15 CBC ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………14 Channel 1………………………………………………………………………………….…………….….……………….….…14 Channel 2…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..15

Radio Coverage…………………………………………………………………..………..……….…………….…..………..16 Radio Masr …………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….16 Al-Shark Al-Awsat…………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….16

Internet coverage……………………………………………………………………….……......……….…....……..…… 17-19 Facebook……………………………………………………………….…………………………………...…….…………….17 Muslim brotherhood.................................................................................................................................................................17-18 Twitter…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………18-19