Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is calling on people to protest against
what it calls a "coup" by the ruling generals, as the country awaits the
publication of official results from the weekend's presidential
election.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, has granted itself a
number of sweeping powers, including control of the budget and the
army. But it repeated on Monday its pledge to hand over authority to a
civilian government by the end of the month.

Mohammed al-Assar, one of the generals, said during a lengthy press
conference in Cairo that there would be a "grand ceremony" to mark the
transition.

"We'll never tire or be bored from assuring everyone that we will hand over power before the end of June," he said.

According to a decree issued on Sunday night, SCAF will retain
authority over the budget and the legislative process until a new
parliament is elected,

The decree even limits the new president's powers as
commander-in-chief, stating that he can only declare war "with the
approval of the military council".

Sameh Ashour, the head of SCAF's advisory council, said the incoming
president would probably have a short term, and would be replaced after a
new constitution was drafted.

"The upcoming president will occupy the office for a short period of
time, whether or not he agrees," he told Al Jazeera. "His office term
will be short despite the huge efforts exerted in the election
campaigns."

It still is not clear, nearly 24 hours after polls closed, who that next president will be.

Against this backdrop of deepending uncertainty, the US said it was deeply concerned about the situation in Egypt.

Duelling victory claims

Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, claimed victory in the early hours of Monday morning.

The Brotherhood's unofficial tally had Morsi leading with about 12.7
million votes, or 52.5 per cent of the total. Several other counts from
media organisations, including Al Jazeera, also showed Morsi with a
narrow lead.

"Thank
God, who guided the people of Egypt to this right path, the path of
freedom and democracy," Morsi said during his victory speech, vowing to
work for a "civil, democratic, constitutional and modern state".

The Brotherhood said it was confident in its figures, and indeed
their unofficial counts have been accurate in past elections. "Our
official numbers in round one matched exactly the [presidential election
commission's] final numbers," the group said in a statement.

But his opponent, Ahmed Shafiq, the final prime minister under
deposed president Hosni Mubarak, rejected Morsi's claim of victory and
accused him of trying to "usurp" the presidency.

"What the other candidate has done threatens Egypt's future and stability," he said in a statement.

Shafiq's campaign said their own internal figures showed their
candidate leading with about 52 per cent of the vote, and accused
Morsi's camp of miscounting millions of ballots.

The generals did not address the electoral confusion during Monday's
press conference. They instead tried to rebut criticism of their decree,
a so-called "constitutional annex" which will govern the country until a
new constitution is drafted.

Mamdouh Shahin, another of the generals, said that the president
would still have the authority to ratify or reject any laws approved by
SCAF.

Supreme court ruling

SCAF dissolved parliament last week following a ruling by the supreme court, which found the legislature unconstitutional.

The court ruled that provisions of the electoral law - which allowed
political parties to compete for seats reserved for independent
candidates - violated the constitution.

Egyptians elect first new president in post-Mubarak era

With the legislature gone, the generals reasserted control over the legislative process, and over the country's budget.

"The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces shall exercise the powers
referred to under the first clause of article 56 [the article on
legislative power] ... until the election of a new People's Assembly,"
the decree states.

The decree promises fresh legislative elections, but not until a new constitution has been drafted.

Before it was dissolved, the parliament appointed a 100-member
assembly to draft that constitution; it will be allowed to continue its
work, though if it runs into "obstacles", SCAF will appoint a
replacement.

The Muslim Brotherhood was quick to condemn the decree, calling it "null and unconstitutional" in a brief statement on Twitter.

Asked about the decree during the group's press conference, Ahmed
Abdel-Atti, Morsi's campaign co-ordinator, said he expected "popular
action" against it in the near future.