Protesters fill Egypt's Tahrir Square

Egyptians packed Tahrir Square in Cairo through the night into Saturday (June 23), waving flags and chanting for the end of military rule as they waited to know the name of the first president they have been free to choose.

After a week of drama, in which the Muslim Brotherhood's hopes of victory in the presidential election were soured by the army dissolving the Islamist-led parliament and decreeing tight limits on the new head of state's powers, there was anxiety on the streets, but also some hope a compromise could be found.

The electoral commission was still not promising to give a result of last weekend's presidential run-off before Sunday (june 24).

In Tahrir Square, where demonstrators faced down Hosni Mubarak's police state during last year's Arab Spring and forced him from power, thousands of mainly Islamist protesters have gathered in growing numbers for several days.