Egypt Islamist candidate Mursi promises broad coalition

The Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate for president in Egypt, Mohammed Mursi, has said he would include a wide range of political forces in any government.

Mr Mursi also promised at a news conference to provide representation to women and children, and said the era of a “Superman” as president was over. The Freedom and Justice Party head said the presidency would no longer be about one person; it would be an institution. Mr Mursi spoke after an attack on the offices of his rival, Ahmed Shafiq. Protesters set fire to storage rooms and smashed computers inside the Giza headquarters of the former air force chief, who served briefly as prime minister during and after the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down as president. Graffiti daubed on a wall said: “No to Shafiq; no to feloul,” an Arabic word used to refer to “remnants” of the Mubarak era. Four people were later arrested on suspicion of arson. Two were members of the centrist Justice Party and a third was a member of the liberal Democratic Front Party, state media reported. Thousands had earlier taken to the streets of Cairo after the Higher Presidential Election Committee (HPEC) published the results of last week’s first round, which saw Mr Mursi win 24.3% of the vote and Mr Shafiq get 23.3%.