CAIRO — Mohammad Mursi, the first Islamist to be elected to the presidency, said Sunday he will be a leader “for all Egyptians.” “I will be a president for all Egyptians,” Mursi said in a speech broadcast live on state television, just hours after being declared president. “I call on you, great people of Egypt ... to strengthen our national unity,” he said, adding that national unity “is the only way out of these difficult times.” Mursi won 51.73 percent of the vote, with 13,230,131 ballots. Mursi, who resigned from the Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party to take the top job, thanked the “martyrs” of the uprising for the victory. About 900 protesters were killed in last year's uprising. Mursi insisted that the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak would continue until its goals were met. “The revolution continues, until all its demands are met,” he said. The 60-year-old engineer also vowed to honor international treaties. “We will preserve all international treaties and charters ... we come in peace,” Mursi said. Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel. In a non-confrontational speech, Mursi did not mention the last-minute power grab by the ruling military that stripped the president of most of his major powers. During the election campaign, Mursi has said Brotherhood rule would not mean that Egypt will be a theocracy, adding that there is little difference between the phrase “the principles of the Shariah” — the term found in the current constitution — and the Shariah itself. — Agencies
