Egypt gets its first Islamist president
Tens of thousands packed into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday in the largest celebration the protest hub has witnessed since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, to celebrate their new president-elect, Mohamed Morsi.
Tens of thousands packed into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday in the largest celebration the protest hub has witnessed since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, to celebrate their new president-elect, Mohamed Morsi.
As a military helicopter hovered above the huge square, revellers set off fireworks and women ululated for what the crowd said was a victory for their “revolution”.
“The old regime has gone. This will be good for Egypt,” said one of the crowd, Khaled Abdel Satar.
At a podium, leaders of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood joined with leftist supporters of the Islamist president-elect and cheered.
The 2011 uprising toppled Mubarak and saw the once-banned Brotherhood thrust to the forefront of politics. An ailing Mubarak has since been sentenced to life in prison over his involvement in the deaths of protesters during the uprising that killed at least 850 people.
Morsi won 51.73% of the vote in the polarised run-off against Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's PM during his final days in power.