Supporters of candidate Ahmed Shafiq hold his pictures as they celebrate in Cairo May 25, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
Dozens of supporters of Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq headed to the latter's campaign headquarters on Friday evening to celebrate the last Mubarak-era PM's surprise electoral victory in the country's first post-Mubarak presidential poll.
Shafiq came in a close second after Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi, meaning that the two men will face off in a runoff vote slated for 16 and 17 June.
Dancing and singing, Shafiq campaigners expressed delight with their candidate's unexpectedly strong showing in the first round of voting on Wednesday and Thursday.
Meanwhile, according to Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news portal, dozens of revolutionary activists – disappointed with their respective candidates' poor electoral performances – headed to Cairo's Tahrir Square where they chanted anti-Shafiq slogans.
Following final vote tallies from polling stations countrywide, Shafiq and Morsi came in second and first in the poll, with 5,210,978 and 5,553,097 votes respectively.
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