Thousands of Egyptians gather in Tahrir Square after Mohamed Morsi is declared the nation's first democratically elected president on Sunday, June 24. In a nationally televised speech, the longtime member of the Muslim Brotherhood promised to represent all Egyptians.
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(CNN) -- When the cheers subside in Tahrir Square, Mohamed Morsi will assume an Egyptian presidency straightjacketed by the country's military, start work under intense international scrutiny and inherit a country on its back economically.
He'll face the skepticism of people like Mohamed Saleh, one of the throng that waited for Sunday's declaration of Morsi's victory in Tahrir Square. Even as he cheered the result, Saleh said the real power in Egypt still lies with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took power after the ouster of longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak.
"They don't give us power. Mohamed Morsi is just a name of president," Saleh said. "He doesn't have the power, SCAF has the power."
Egypt's electoral commission declared Morsi the country's president-elect Sunday after a runoff with Ahmed Shafik, a former air force general who served as Mubarak's last prime minister. With the announcement of Morsi's victory, cheers erupted in Tahrir Square, the Cairo plaza that was the center of the 2011 revolt that toppled Mubarak.
Morsi urges unity in first speech
His supporters already are pushing for a confrontation with the generals, who recently ordered an elected, Islamist-dominated parliament dissolved and announced they would retain legislative power for an indefinite time.
"Will the military council respect the Egyptian will or not?" asked Abdoul Mawgoud Dardery, a member of parliament from Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of Egypt's long-suppressed Muslim Brotherhood. "If it respects it, we will be able to work together. If it does not, the military council knows very well where Mubarak is right now."
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Dardery said the Brotherhood and its supporters would remain in Tahrir Square until they get what they want. Khaled Fahmy, a historian at the American University in Cairo, said that determination is born of the hard lessons that followed the ouster of Mubarak, who has been sentenced to life in prison for ordering the killings of anti-government protesters in the 2011 revolt.
World leaders, regular folks react to Morsi's victory
"We thought the revolution was over, that we won when we forced the president to resign, and we went back home," Fahmy told CNN. "And obviously, the revolution was far from being over, and our demands were far from being answered."
SCAF dissolved parliament elected earlier this year following a ruling by Egypt's high court that the law governing the parliamentary elections was invalid. The generals said the new president would set a date for parliamentary elections and would have the power to appoint government officials, name ambassadors to foreign countries and grant pardons -- but the junta will keep legislative power and the budget in its hands until new lawmakers are elected.
The Brotherhood and the secular liberal groups that launched the 2011 protests have to maintain that presence to keep pressure on the government, Fahmy said. Meanwhile, he said, the military's announcement that it would retain legislative and budgetary power "is effectively a recipe for at best a paralysis in the executive branch of the government."
The Muslim Brotherhood explained
At worst, it could mean a fight with the generals at a time when Egypt's economy is still recovering from the nosedive that accompanied the revolution.
"They've lost 2 million jobs since February of last year," said U.S. congressman David Dreier, an election observer during the runoff. "By virtue of that, they really need to get the economy growing and get people back to work."
Dreier, a California Republican, told CNN's "State of the Union" that he is backing a U.S.-Egyptian free trade bill in Congress in hopes of boosting Egyptian fortunes.
Before the revolution, about 40% of Egyptians lived in poverty. Tourism was the bedrock of the country's economy, "and it has come to standstill" amid the past year's turmoil," Fahmy said.
"The unemployment rate has hiked up. There's not much inflation, but occasionally shortages in fuel and shortages of basic supplies," he said.
Morsi vowed to revive the economy in the speech he delivered to the nation late Sunday, telling Egyptians their resources were plentiful but had been "squandered and mismanaged." And Cairo's stock market jumped more than 3% on Sunday, which Fahmy called "an indication of how sensitive the markets are for stability."
"In a sense, it's a vote for the fact that it's democracy that brings stability rather than the military or the police," he said. "It's not a flight of capital out of Egypt because of Islamists winning, it's the exact opposite. It's a vote of confidence not so much in the Brotherhood itself, but in the democratic process."
Egypt has long been the leading U.S. ally in the Arab world, receiving $1.3 billion annually in American military aid for decades. Its peace treaty with Israel is a cornerstone of regional diplomacy. Israel has reacted cautiously to the elections, issuing a statement Sunday that it "appreciates the democratic process in Egypt and respects the results of the presidential elections."
"Israel looks forward to continuing cooperation with the Egyptian government on the basis of the peace treaty between the two countries, which is a joint interest of both peoples and contributes to regional stability," the statement said.
Despite his previous fierce criticism of Israel -- including calling Israeli leaders "vampires" and "killers" -- Morsi pledged Sunday night that Egypt "will preserve all national and international agreements" under his leadership. Edwin Walker, a former U.S. ambassador to Egypt, told CNN that abandoning the treaty was "not going to be possible."
"You can't just tear up the peace treaty and start over again," he said.
And Fahmy said the hard realities of the economy and the still-unsettled revolution are likely to make revisiting the Egyptian-Israeli pact a distant prospect.
"I don't think foreign relations, or specifically relations with Israel, will be on the top of their priority list," he said. "They are way too smart to open up this question now, and I don't think they're too keen on opening it on the medium front."
Why Hosni Mubarak's death wouldn't change Egypt's future
Morsi also may have to deal with a split in the ranks of his own party, between those who may advocate smoothing things over with the generals and others who want to cultivate ties with secular liberals and leftists.
"The Brotherhood is a huge organization. It is a very venerable organization. It is an old one," Fahmy said. "But I think it is also facing its greatest threat, and it's a threat paradoxically prompted by its victory."
The group survived years of crackdowns by Egyptian rulers by staying underground, insisting on cohesion and secrecy and not tolerating dissent. But now, "We're seeing youthful brothers who, in my reading, have much more in common with the secularist revolutionaries than with the elderly Muslim Brotherhood members."
Nevertheless, the arrival of a democratically elected leader is a moment Egyptians have awaited "for the past 7,000 years," Dardery said.
"This is a great moment in history, and we're going to be making history from now on," he said.
CNN's Jonathan Wald in Cairo contributed to this report.
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As fireworks burst overhead, Egyptians in Tahrir Square celebrate Mohamed Morsi's election on Sunday.
A supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood is carried away from the tightly packed arena of Tahrir Square in Cairo on Sunday as Mohamed Morsi supporters celebrate his victory in Egypt's presidential election.
Morsi suppporters celebrate in front of a picture of him at his campaign headquarters in Cairo on June 24.
Supporters of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik react after hearing the results of the presidential elections in Cairo on June 24.
Farouq Sultan, center, head of the Higher Presidential Election Commission, reads the results of the presidential runoff election in Cairo on Sunday, declaring Morsi the winner.
Muslim Brotherhood supporters cheer in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday after hearing of Morsi's victory in Egypt's presidential election.
Egyptians celebrate the election of Morsi after he won 51% of the vote to defeat Shafik.
Egyptians fill Tahrir Square on Sunday, June 24, as they wait for the elections commission to announce the winner of the country's presidential election.
Female supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, protest against Egypt's military rulers in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Saturday, June 23. Egyptian election officials had postponed the announcement of a winner in last weekend's presidential runoff, stating they needed more time to evaluate charges of electoral abuse that could affect who becomes the country's next president.
A supporter of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, holds up a wooden Christian cross and Muslim crescent as he and others demonstrate in Nasr city on the outskirts of Cairo, on Saturday, June 23.
The official election results are expected on June 24.
Protesters demonstrate against Egypt's military rulers.
Protesters take a break from shouting slogans to pray in Tahrir Square.
Protesters sleep as they camp overnight in Tahrir Square.
Protesters wave flags and shout slogans in Tahrir Square on Friday, June 22, in Cairo.
Crowds gather in Tahrir Square to protest against Egypt's military rulers.
Protesters shout slogans to denounce what they claim is a power grab by the ruling military, as the nation nervously awaits the results of the first post-Mubarak presidential election.
Protesters gather in front of wall art in Tahrir Square.
Protesters perform Friday noon prayer under tents erected in Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square.
Egyptian activists rest at the foot of a banner of presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Thursday, June 21.
Muslim clerics join demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Thursday to protest the delay of the presidential election results. The Presidential Election Commission postponed the release of the presidential election results, and both candidates have declared themselves winners.
A supporter of Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik kisses a portrait of him during a Cairo rally Wednesday, June 20. Shafik was the last prime minister to serve under Hosni Mubarak
Morsi supporters rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday, June 18. Morsi declared victory as Egypt's first democratically elected president even as military rulers issued a decree that virtually stripped the position of power.
Morsi supporters wave flags Monday in Cairo's Tahrir Square after the Islamists claimed victory. The square was considered the heart of the February 2011 uprising that led to Hosni Mubarak's downfall.
The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi makes his way through supporters at electoral headquarters early Monday in Cairo. In a victory speech, Morsi did not address the military council's move but tried to allay fears he would impose an Islamist state.
Morsi supporters celebrate Monday in Cairo. Votes in the Egyptian capital, the largest population center, continued to be tallied, but unofficial results by a state-run news website showed Morsi leading elsewhere with 11.2 million votes, compared with 10.3 million for Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister in the waning days of Mubarak's regime.
Egyptian election officials count ballots at a polling station in Cairo on Sunday, June 17. The official vote count was scheduled to be finished Monday.
The Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday claims its candidate, Mohamed Morsi, has defeated foe Ahmed Shafik to become Egypt's president.
An Egyptian woman shows her ink-stained finger, marking that she voted in Cairo on Sunday.
Women line up to vote at a polling station in Cairo, Egypt, on the second and final day of the run-off presidential election.
Women line-up to cast their vote at a polling station in Cairo on Sunday.
Egyptian Christian Coptic men help a woman reach a polling station in the Cairo Coptic Shubra neighborhood on Saturday, June 16. Voters returned to the polls after Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the Islamist-led Parliament must be immediately dissolved.
A full-veiled Egyptian woman casts her vote at a polling station in Cairo on June 16.
Egyptians queue outside a polling station in Cairo.
An Egyptian Muslim Salafist shows his ink-stained finger after voting at a polling station.
An Egyptian woman dips her finger in indelible ink after casting her ballot.
Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi, center, waves to his supporters as he arrives at a polling station to vote in the city of Zagazig.
An Egyptian woman casts her ballot in Cairo.
Egyptians check to see their names are listed before casting their votes at a polling station.
Egyptian women dip their fingers in ink after voting at a polling station.
An elderly Egyptian man shows the indelible ink stain on his finger after voting on the first day of the second round of the historical presidential election at a polling station in the city of Zagazig.
Egyptians push a truck that was blocking the entrance of a polling station.
An Egyptian man smiles after casting his vote in Giza.
A veiled Egyptian woman looks for her name on the registered voters' list in the city of Zagazig.
An Egyptian Coptic Christian woman casts her vote in the Cairo Coptic neighborhood of Shubra.
Egyptian women cast their votes at a polling station.
An Egyptian woman holds her baby as she prepares to vote at a polling station in Cairo.
An Egyptian man shows off his little finger covered in indelible ink after casting his vote at a polling station in Cairo.
An Egyptian man on his donkey shows his ink-stained finger after casting his ballot.
Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi casts his ballot at a polling station in the city of Zagazig.
An Egyptian woman holds up an ink-stained finger after casting her vote at a polling station in Cairo.
An elderly Egyptian man registers Saturday before voting in the city of Zagazig in an election that pits Ahmed Shafik, the last premier of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, against Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi.
Election officials and an Egyptian soldier direct voters during the second stage of runoff presidential elections at a polling station in Giza.
Egyptian Christian Coptic men check the voters' list Saturday outside a polling station in the Cairo Coptic neighborhood of Shubra.
Egyptians burn the likeness of presidential candidate and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik in Cairo on Friday, the eve of the nation's presidential election.
A bus driver stops to wave in support of Egyptian protesters making their way to Tahrir Square on Thursday.
Egyptians pray in Tahrir Square on Thursday during a protest against presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik.
A protester stands on a barricade of barbed wire as Egyptian military police stand guard. Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that the Islamist-led parliament must be immediately dissolved.
An Egyptian boy waves his shoes as he joins supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in a protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square against Mubarak-era prime minister and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik after Egypt's top court rejected on Thursday a law barring him from standing in a tense presidential poll runoff.
Protestors gesture towards military police through a barricade of barbed wire during a protest against presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik outside the Supreme Constitutional Court on Thursday.
People walk past graffiti showing faces of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, right; Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, second right; former Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Mussa, second left, and former prime minister and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, left, at Tahrir square.
A boy peers through barbed wire at Egyptian military police standing guard outside the Constitutional Court in Cairo on Thursday, June 14.
Egyptian women line up to cast their vote Saturday.
Former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, center, is seated before addressing a business conference in Cairo on Wednesday.
Egyptians read the front page of newspapers for sale outside of Al-Fatah Mosque in Cairo on Friday, May 25.
Ballots are counted by election officials in Alexandria as the country eagerly awaits the outcome Friday.
A supporter of presidential candidate Abdelmonen Abol Fotoh voices her opinions at Tahrir Square on Friday.
Supporters of various candidates debate outside Al-Fatah Mosque in Cairo on Friday.
Electoral officials monitor voting in Namul, a village north of Cairo, on Thursday, May 24, the second and final day of voting in Egypt's historic presidential election. Egypt is holding its first presidential election since last year's toppling of Hosni Mubarak, part of the wave of Arab Spring uprisings.
Egyptian women wait in line Thursday to cast their vote outside a polling station in Cairo. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote in the first round of voting, a second round will be held June 16-17.
An election worker checks the identification of a voter at a polling place Thursday in Namul as Egyptian soldiers stand guard.
A soldier stands watch in the Egyptian capital on the second day of voting. A pervasive fear exists that the powerful military, which has run the country since Mubarak's fall 16 months ago, could try to hijack the election.
An Egyptian man waits to cast his ballot Thursday north of Cairo. The vote is considered Egypt's first free and fair presidential election in modern history.
An Egyptian man drops off his ballot at a polling station Thursday in Cairo. The voting marks the first time Egypt has held a presidential election in which the results aren't known beforehand.
An Egyptian woman holds up an ink-stained finger after casting her ballot in Cairo on Wednesday, May 23, the first day of voting in the historic election.
A voter studies her ballot Wednesday in Cairo. Thirteen candidates are competing in the wide-open race, but two withdrew after ballots were printed.
Egyptian men fill out their ballots Wednesday in Cairo. Results of the first round of voting are not expected before the weekend.
An Egyptian man casts his ballot at a Cairo polling station. Some Egyptians told CNN that they waited up to four hours Wednesday to vote.
Egyptian men shield themselves from the hot sun outside a Cairo polling station Wednesday.
Egyptian men line up to cast their vote Wednesday in Cairo. Some 30,000 volunteers fanned out to ensure voting is fair, said organizers with the April 6 youth movement, which has campaigned for greater democracy in Egypt.
Egyptian men fill out their ballots at a Cairo polling place.
Presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahy, a leftist dark-horse contender, flashes a sign of victory as he waits to vote at a Cairo school.
Presidential candidate Abdelmonen Abol Fotoh, a moderate Islamist, casts his ballot Wednesday in Cairo.
An Egyptian Coptic nun drops her ballot at a Cairo polling station Wednesday.
Egyptian women wait outside a polling station in Cairo. Many Egyptians seem uncertain of their loyalties to any particular candidate.
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