Copts have been the party to blame for the ascendance of Shafīq, one of the so-called fulūl (the Arabic word for remnants of the former regime) to the runoff. When church leaders denied these claims it has been said that meetings were held between the fulūl and senior Coptic figures for coordination in favor of Shafīq.

In fact, Copts, like any other Egyptians, have not cast their votes as one bloc in favor of a certain candidate.

This state of intimidation can be detected in statements by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) only to preclude Copts from voting for the Brotherhood’s contender in the runoffs and consequently guarantee a win.

However, this game is very dangerous by all measures simply because it involves sectarian division in which Copts would vote for Shafīq while Muslims vote for Mursī. [Hilmī al-Namnam, al-Misrī al-Yawm, May 30, p. 17] Read original text in Arabic