Neighborhood residents outside a polling station in the Abdeen neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, June 17, 2012. For some Egyptians waiting on Sunday in sweltering heat to vote on the second day of presidential elections, their choice has been rendered essentially meaningless with the military poised to hold onto the lion's share of power no matter who wins. (AP Photo/Pete Muller)
Neighborhood residents outside a polling station in the Abdeen neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, June 17, 2012. For some Egyptians waiting on Sunday in sweltering heat to vote on the second day of presidential elections, their choice has been rendered essentially meaningless with the military poised to hold onto the lion's share of power no matter who wins. (AP Photo/Pete Muller)
FILE - In this Sunday, May 20, 2012 file photo, the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi holds a rally in Cairo, Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood has declared that its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, won Egypt's presidential election, early Monday, June 18, 2012.(AP Photo/Fredrik Persson, File)
Egyptian men line up to vote at a polling station in the Shobra neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt on Sunday, June 17, 2012. Egyptians are choosing on Sunday between a conservative Islamist and Hosni Mubarak's ex-prime minister in the second day of a presidential runoff that has been overshadowed by questions on whether the ruling military will transfer power to civilian authority by July 1 as promised. (AP Photo/Pete Muller)
Two Egyptian men sit under posters of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq at a traditional coffee shop during the second day of the presidential runoff in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, June 17, 2012. Egyptians are choosing between a conservative Islamist and Hosni Mubarak's ex-prime minister in a second day of a presidential runoff that has been overshadowed by the domination of the country's military. Arabic on the poster reads "Ahmed Shafiq, President for Egypt, Egypt is for all." (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
An Egyptian man smokes a water pipe under a poster of presidential candidate, Ahmed Shafiq at a traditional coffee shop during the second day of the presidential runoff in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, June 17, 2012. Egyptians are choosing between a conservative Islamist and Hosni Mubarak's ex-prime minister in a second day of a presidential runoff that has been overshadowed by the domination of the country's military. Arabic on the poster reads, "Ahmed Shafiq, President for Egypt, Egypt is for all." (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's ruling military council pledged Monday to honor its promise to hand over power to the newly elected president by the end of this month, hours after Islamist candidate Mohammed Morsi claimed victory in the first free presidential vote since the ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak 16 months ago.
Maj-Gen. Mohammed al-Assar, a senior member of the ruling council, said the generals would transfer power in a "grand ceremony," according to the state news agency. He did not give an exact date or mention Morsi by name.
He said the new president will have the authority to appoint and dismiss the government and that the military council has no intention of taking away any of the president's authorities.
But the military council issued an interim constitution just as polls were closing late Sunday night that gave the generals sweeping authority to maintain their grip on power and subordinate the nominal head of state.
Though official results have not yet been announced, the Brotherhood released a tally that showed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood took nearly 52 percent of the vote to defeat Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq with about 48 percent in a very close race. The count was based on results announced by election officials at individual polling centers, where each campaign has representatives who compile and release the numbers before the formal announcement.
If Morsi's victory is confirmed in the official result expected on Thursday, it would be the first victory of an Islamist as head of state in the stunning wave of pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East the past year. But the military's last minute power grab sharpens the possibility of confrontation and more of the turmoil that has beset Egypt since Mubarak's overthrow.
By midday, several hundred flag-waving supporters had gathered at Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the uprising, to celebrate.
In a victory speech at his headquarters in the middle of the night, Morsi, 60, clearly sought to assuage the fears of many Egyptians that the Brotherhood will try to impose stricter provisions of Islamic law. He said he seeks "stability, love and brotherhood for the Egyptian civil, national, democratic, constitutional and modern state" and made no mention of Islamic law.
"Thank God, who successfully led us to this blessed revolution. Thank God, who guided the people of Egypt to this correct path, the road of freedom, democracy," the bearded, U.S.-educated engineer declared.
Just a few days before the presidential runoff on Saturday and Sunday, the military granted itself broad new powers to arrest civilians and a court packed with judges appointed by Mubarak dissolved the parliament freely elected after the uprising, which was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.
The interim constitution announced late Sunday declared the military rulers the country's lawmakers in lieu of the dissolved parliament, gave them control over the budget and the power to determine who writes the permanent constitution that will define the country's future.
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