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Shafiq, on his part, has said it would be "unacceptable" if an Islamist takes the presidential office, echoing the rhetoric of Mubarak, his longtime mentor who devoted much of his 29-year rule to fighting Islamists. Still, Shafiq's campaign has said it would accept the election's result. And each fires up strong emotions among the public. Shafiq drew support among Egyptians who fear Islamists or want a perceived "strongman" to bring stability after 16 months of economic and political turmoil and bloodshed since Muabrak's fall. But he also raises the venom of many who see him as another Mubarak-style autocrat, rooted in a regime that was notorious for corruption and police brutality. Secular Egyptians fear the prospect of greater religion in government if Morsi wins. Moreover, the Brotherhood faced a backlash from many of the voters who supported it in the parliament election but later grew disillusioned. Some accused it of trying to overly monopolize power like Mubarak's ruling party once did. Morsi's showing in the partial results was a considerable drop from the around 50 percent support the Brotherhood received in the parliament vote. Still, Morsi benefited from the might of the Brotherhood's well-organized electoral machine, the nation's strongest. "We need a president who gets rid of the former corrupt and oppressive system and brings Egypt back to the position it deserves economically and internationally," said Rizk Mohammed, a contractor voting with his family in Cairo on Thursday
-- all for Morsi. At another station Thursday in the Cairo district of el-Zawiya el-Hamra, several women in line to vote debated. "I like the personality of Shafiq. He is strong enough to lift the country," said Suheir Abdel-Mumin. Somaiya Imam, still undecided on whom to choose, replied with a reference to Islamist candidates, saying: "Don't you think we should vote for the candidate who holds the Quran?" "We voted for them before and they let us down," Abdel-Mumin responded, referring to the Brotherhood's victories in last year's parliamentary elections. "They want everything
-- the presidency, parliament and government. They are never satisfied."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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