AP PHOTOS: Post-election scenes from Tahrir Square

Associated Press

Published: Sunday, June 24 2012 2:26 p.m. MDT

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Fireworks illuminate Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, as Egyptians gather to celebrate Mohammed Morsi's presidential win Sunday, June 24, 2012. Mohammed Morsi was declared Egypt's first Islamist president on Sunday after the freest elections in the country's history, narrowly defeating Hosni Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in a race that raised political tensions in Egypt to a fever pitch.

Khalil Hamra, Associated Press

Summary

In the sweltering heat Sunday, tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters had jammed into Tahrir Square — the birthplace of Egypt's revolution — to learn who won its first free presidential election.

CAIRO — In the sweltering heat Sunday, tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters had jammed into Tahrir Square — the birthplace of Egypt's revolution — to learn who won its first free presidential election.

They were not disappointed.

When they heard the head of the election commission declare on live TV that their candidate, Mohammed Morsi, had won with 51.58 percent of the vote, a deafening roar arose from the iconic square in central Cairo.

His supporters danced in a joyous celebration not seen in the square since Hosni Mubarak was forced out on Feb. 11, 2011.

They knelt on the ground in prayer. They waved flags. They set off firecrackers. Some released doves carrying a photo of Morsi, who defeated Mubarak's former prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, in a runoff election.

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