As Egyptians sorted through conflicting reports on Saturday about when the judicial commission overseeing the vote might finally declare a winner, fragmentary reports of meetings between Brotherhood leaders and the ruling generals have upstaged the faltering health of former President Hosni Mubarak as a staple of debate on television talk shows.

Each side has been fairly open about its bargaining position, and some analysts said that the two were not so far from a reaching a power-sharing accord, as nearly happened a few months ago before talks fell apart in angry disputes over interim control of the transitional government…

The Brotherhood’s leaders say their chief demand is the recognition of their victories in the parliamentary and presidential elections. They pointedly say that they respect a ruling on June 14 by the Supreme Constitutional Court that the military used as a writ to dissolve the Parliament: that political parties were wrongly allowed to run parliamentary candidates competing for the one-third of seats set aside for individuals rather than party lists. But instead of the immediate dissolution of the whole legislature, the Brotherhood proposes new elections for those seats or perhaps accelerated elections for the whole chamber…

Since seizing power after Mr. Mubarak’s ouster, the generals, for their part, have appeared focused on protecting their power, their privilege and perhaps the generally secular character of the state under a new permanent Constitution. “The Constitution is their biggest priority,” Mr. Hanna said. “It gives them a way to protect themselves, a legal shield.”