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CAIRO Egypt's media are demonizing the Muslim Brotherhood as the state's worst enemy, claiming the fundamentalist group plans to plunge the country into chaos if its candidate does not emerge as the winner from the presidential runoff.

Results of the weekend election were set to be announced Thursday, but officials postponed the declaration, setting off a wave of charges of manipulation aimed at all sides, including the ruling military.

The Brotherhood escalated its fight with the military, calling for a mass protest Friday to denounce what it called a power grab by the generals. Three major Islamist groups said Thursday they would join the protest in Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak out of office last year.

Thousands of protesters, mostly Islamists, gathered in Tahrir Thursday for the third successive day.

Protesters demanded the reinstatement of the Islamist-dominated parliament dissolved by a court ruling last week. They also called on the military to rescind a "constitutional declaration" granting the generals sweeping powers and stripping the next president of much of his authority.

International condemnation of the generals who took over from Mubarak also intensified. Human Rights Watch complained that recent moves by the military suggested that there would not be a "meaningful" handover of power to civilian rule by July 1 as promised and created conditions "ripe" for more human rights abuses.

The statement echoed criticism by former President Jimmy Carter, a frequent visitor to Egypt who repeatedly met with its ruling generals, and Amnesty International.

The military has over the past week given itself the role of legislator, the right to arrest civilians and control over drafting a new constitution. It has also taken several steps to shield the military from civilian oversight.

The sense of political uncertainty engulfing the country following last weekend's presidential runoff is heightened by the failure of Egypt's election commission to announce a winner. Both candidates Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, and Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood have claimed victory.

"I have faith in the judges of Egypt, but too much delay will raise question marks," Saad el-Katatni, a senior Brotherhood leader and speaker of the dissolved legislature, told Al-Jazeera in an interview. "The result is already known and it is Mohammed Morsi."

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Media demonize Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood as presidential election hangs in balance