Ex-contender Ahmed Shafiq congratulated President Mohamed Mursi on his victory, adding that he accepts the election result. Shafiq stated that he trusts there will be no score settlement in the future.

“In this  decisive moment in Egypt’s march, I declare my acceptance of the election result the presidential elections commission announced. I thank the honourable judiciary of Egypt and appreciate the efforts of the armed forces in running and organising this historic electoral process following the January 25 revolution,” Shafiq said in a recorded statement accepting election result.

“I congratulate elected president Mohamed Mursi and wish him luck in the hard mission before him,” Shafiq said.

“I, along with everyone who supported me, expect Mursi to be a president for all Egyptians,” he stated.

“I trust there will no exclusion or score settlement. I respect the opinion of the majority and appreciate every citizen who voted for me,” he added.

Shafiq said he has been subjected to deliberate smear campaigns and has been through a difficult time on the public and personal levels  during the past year.

The ex-presidential candidate was Mubarak’s last prime minister in 2011 yet anti-Shafiq campaigns forced him to resign in under a month. His wife died last April.

Shafiq came second in the first round of the election after he managed to get 23 percent of the valid votes yet he failed to achieve the simple majority required to secure the post of president.