Associated Press

CAIRO—Egypt's ruling military council on Friday blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for raising tensions by releasing presidential election results early and insisted its recent decisions that granted the generals sweeping powers were necessary for running the country.
The military statement comes as tens of thousands rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square to support the Brotherhood's candidate for president, Mohammed Morsi. The protesters also denounced what they call the military's power grab that strips the next leader of much of his authority.
The generals last week issued a constitutional declaration that gave them sweeping powers, which undermine the authority of the newly elected president. International condemnation of the document followed and questioned the timing of the declaration.
The Brotherhood declared Mr. Morsi the winner hours after polls closed this weekend. Its claim was contested by Morsi's rival, Ahmed Shafiq, who was Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister.


European Pressphoto AgencyProtesters shout slogans during a demonstration against the delay of the Egyptian presidential-election results and the military rulers, in Tahrir Square, Cairo.

"Announcing the results of the presidential election early before the official statement is unjustified and is one of the main reasons behind the division and confusion prevailing on the political scene," said the statement, read out on state TV. It didn't specifically name the Brotherhood.
The official results were to be announced Thursday but authorities postponed it, setting off a wave of accusations of manipulation that was aimed at all sides, including the ruling military.
The military council also rebuffed calls for reinstating the parliament, which is led by the Brotherhood and which was dissolved by a court decision last week. The military said court decisions must be respected.
The council also said its constitutional declaration was a necessity in order for the military to run the country's affairs during this "critical period."
The Brotherhood has escalated its challenge of the military's recent moves, calling for protests, now in running for the fourth day.
The protesters in Tahrir on Friday endorsed Mr. Morsi as president. They have also demanded the parliament be restored and wanted the military to rescind its declaration.
The military said any attempt to "harm public and private interests" would draw a "firm" response, suggesting it would not tolerate violent protests.
Most of the demonstrators in the downtown Cairo square on Friday were Muslim Brotherhood members and backers—unlike the mostly secular and liberal protesters who dominated the popular revolution. They were joined by a few liberal groups that have long protested against the generals, accusing them of mismanaging the transition.
Similar protests were held in Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city.
Before leading Friday prayers in the Cairo square, cleric Mazhar Shaheen said Mr. Morsi was the clear winner in the election.
"From here, we tell Morsi we ask him to be president for all Egyptians—those who voted for him and those who didn't—and to reach out to Muslims and Christians. He is president for all," the cleric told the crowd from a podium in the square. About 10% of Egypt's 80 million people are Christians.
Late Thursday, Mr. Shafiq repeated his claim of victory and charged that the Brotherhood was "playing games" and striking "backdoor deals" with outside powers to influence the results.
Mr. Shafiq denounced the Brotherhood's public appeals. "These protests in the squares and fear-mongering campaigns in the media are all aimed at putting pressure on the election commission," he said.
By the Brotherhood's count, Mr. Morsi took 52% of the vote to Mr. Shafiq's 48%. The claim was based on the group's own compilation of election officials' returns from nearly all polling centers. The Brotherhood's early partial counts proved generally accurate in last month's first round of the presidential election.
Mr. Shafiq rejected those figures.
The Brotherhood said Mr. Morsi met Thursday with representatives of different revolutionary groups and public figures in an attempt to rally support against the military's moves, which they called a "military coup."
Mr. Morsi also consulted by phone with Mohamed ElBaradei, a prodemocracy leader, a prominent Brotherhood figure, Mohammed el-Beltagy, wrote on his Facebook page. Mr. ElBaradei, a secular leader, was seen as a major spark of last year's popular uprising. He has had little contact with the Brotherhood since.
"We are on the verge of a new phase to reformulate a unifying national project," Mr. el-Beltagy wrote.