Father Ammonious, undersecretary of Qena’s Archbishopric for Orthodox Copts, denied the archbishopric issued a statement calling on Copts to vote for presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq.

In a statement reported by the Middle East News Agency (MENA), the Father described the statement “fabricated, untrue and aims at fueling sedition” between Muslims and Copts.

Father Ammonious said that whoever issued that statement and distributed it in Qena aims at repeating what he called “the tragedy of sectarian voting in parliamentary elections.”

He added that the statement carries the signatures of the Youth’s Archbishopric in Cairo not Qena and the signature on the bottom left of the statement is falsified.

The Father stressed that the church stands at an equal distance from both runoff candidates.

A statement has been issued earlier in Qena calling on Copts to vote for Shafiq for his respect for the rights of Copts and his ability to restore security to Egypt.