Egypt presidential election overshadowed by further army power grab and voter fraud claims "We need a proper administration now," said Ahmed Abdulsamir, a shopkeeper, reflecting the views of many Egyptians who say they are fed up with political uncertainty. The election has been fought amid allegations that the run-off was a conspiracy between the army and the Brotherhood against liberals, none of whose candidates won a run-off place, and of the dissolution of parliament after a court ruling on Thursday. The army went one step further on Sunday, announcing that legislative and budget powers would be handed back to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). SCAF will also issue new rules for the formation of the committee to draw up a new constitution. That had also been in the hands of parliament. The moves give the army the power to dominate the continuing political transition whichever candidate is declared president. The result will be formally announced on June 21 but is likely to be known by early Monday, unless it is very close. The army's assertion of authority over the last week, denounced by many as a coup, has furthered a campaign to boycott the election. Collections of mobile phone photographs of spoiled ballots began to appear on the internet yesterday. "I'm too confused to choose from the criminal and the coward - I'm voting for Tahrir Square," wrote Viola Fahmy, an activist, above a picture of her paper with a cross beside both names. The presidential election has proved beyond doubt that the revolution was hijacked and excluded from the political scene, which has been seized exclusively by the military and the Brotherhood. There were fewer queues outside polling stations than in either the now-annulled parliamentary election or the presidential election's first round. Turnout in the latter was already low at 46 per cent. The Brotherhood condemned the dissolution of parliament but has seemed to acquiesce in the army's power grab, saying it would continue to take part in the election and would respect the result if Mr Shafiq won. After its triumph in the parliamentary vote, when it won almost half the seats and seemed on the verge of becoming Egypt's dominant political force, it appears happy to settle for second place. Michael Wahid Hanna, an analyst with The Century Foundation, said the Brotherhood had overplayed its hand by trying to seize control of parliament, the constitutional committee and the presidency all at once, and was now struggling in the face of the army's backlash. "They went for broke and lost everything," he said. It seems that they are willing to scramble for the scraps that SCAF are willing to give them. Others say the Brotherhood are playing a longer game, knowing their long record of charitable support for the poor stands them in better stead than taking responsibility for difficult political decisions. Despite their persecution under 60 years of military rule, they have overseen and benefited from a massive expansion of Islamic education and conservative social practices such as the veiling of women. Amr Hosni, a teacher standing outside the headquarters of a Brotherhood charity, said that just by being able to compete for the presidency the Brotherhood showed its new strength. "They are harvesting the fruit of all their previous work in this election," he said. They planted the seeds a long time ago.