Hosni Mubarak on life support machine

EGYPT’S former president Hosni Mubarak was being kept alive by life support today after his condition rapidly worsened in prison.

The 84-year-old ousted leader’s health crisis added a new element of uncertainty just as a potentially explosive fight opened over who will succeed him.

Officials said that while at the Torah Prison hospital he had suffered a “fast deterioration of his health”. His heart stopped beating until he was revived by defibrillation, then he suffered a stroke.

It was initially reported that efforts to save his life were not successful.

But the official said Mubarak was put on life support. He had no further details on his condition.

The developments add further layers to what is threatening to become a new chapter of unrest and political power struggles in Egypt, 16 months after Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising demanding democracy.

Egyptians were uncertain about Mubarak’s fate, about who will succeed him and about whether his successor will have any real power.

The campaign of Mubarak’s former prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, said yesterday he has won Egypt’s presidential election, countering the Muslim Brotherhood’s claim of victory for its candidate, Mohammed Morsi.

The election commission is to announce the official final results tomorrow.

The health crisis of Mubarak, who is serving a life prison sentence, is yet one more thing to stoke the heat. Mubarak is in Cairo’s Torah Prison, jailed for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the 18-day uprising against his rule last year.