Egypt military to hand over power by end of June

[June 18, 2012]  CAIRO (AP) -- Egypt's official news agency is quoting a senior member of the ruling military council as saying the generals will hand over power to the newly elected president at the end of the month.

In a Monday report, it quoted Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Assar as saying the transfer of power will take place in a "grand ceremony." He gave no exact date.

The winner of the presidential runoff held this weekend will be officially announced on Thursday. The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful political group, claimed early Monday that its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, had defeated Ahmed Shafiq, Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister.

Al-Assar did not mention Morsi by name.

[Associated Press]

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