Celebrating the Brotherhood’s Victory: A New President is Elected in Egypt

It’s been a restless month for politics in Egypt, where longtime president Hosni Mubarak was ousted from office during the Arab Spring last February. On June 14, just days before the country’s first democratic presidential elections, the Supreme Constitutional Court dissolved Egypt’s Islamist-majority parliament. The elections themselves were further marred by confusion when election officials delayed the announcement of a winner, saying they needed more time to investigate charges of electoral abuse.

Since the vote last weekend, supporters of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy have been gathering daily in Tahrir Square. On Sunday, an official announcement declared Morsy the winner and the tension that had been brewing in the crowds all week quickly transformed into euphoria.

Photographer Daniel Berehulak documented the activity in Cairo in both the lead-up to the announcement and the ensuing celebrations. He described the frustration he observed while the public anxiously awaited an outcome, saying, “There was anger in the street, people were arguing on corners.”

As the results were announced on Sunday crowds packed into Tahrir, spilling out onto surrounding bridges. “People were jammed,” said Berehulak. “They were lining up to get into Tahrir to get a piece of it, to get a taste of freedom and a resolution to the revolution.”

Elated Morsy supporters set off fireworks and flares and the roar of trumpets and chants filled the air. Overwhelmed by both emotion and sweltering heat, several members of the crowd fainted and had to be carried to nearby ambulances.

Taking photographs was a challenge for Berehulak who struggled to find enough space to hold his camera up in the dense and excited crowd. “They were just embracing us,” he says. “It was so overwhelming, but it was so beautiful.”

Daniel Berehulak is a photographer based in New Delhi. See more of his work here.

Read more about Mohamed Morsy’s election on TIME.com.