Posts
At the recent Egyptian elections, the lines of voters waiting to vote stretched for hundreds of metres, but this didn’t deter the Egyptians who had come from their different homes to vote from voting at the polls. Many of them were casting their votes for the very first time. The elderly among the voters came with chairs and most who didn’t come with chairs were given or offered chairs to sit on while they waited. The general mood and atmosphere was one of excitement as many people turned out to vote in what would be a historic election, the first parliamentary poll since the revolt that toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak in February of 2011. Elderly people who had turned out to vote believed that this was an important period for their country and for the people of Egypt. Many didn’t care who was elected, Islamists or others, it didn’t matter to them, all that mattered was that they did their part in the elections. It was clear that after several years of dictatorship and military regimes and countless rigged elections, the people where very enthusiastic as they went to the polls in the hope that they could bring to an end the chaos of the past year and the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF)
The multi-stage election in Egypt began on November 28, by which time it was evident that the Egyptians hard won confidence in how much they could influence change in their own government had all but evaporated. It had given way to frustration because over the past year the country has been torn by one crisis after the other. Political drift, demonstrations, labour strikes and frequent eruptions of sectarian violence between muslims and Christians have driven away investors and tourists, causing the economy to grind to a halt and as a result, life has increasing become hard for millions of poor people. The most disturbing part of the story in recent days has been the fracturing of the unity of purpose that prevailed during the protests. Basically, the people of Egypt seem to have become divided politically. There is a widening gap between the younger generation of people who started the revolt earlier in the year and the army generals who assisted to oust Mr Mubarak. This widening gap has also added to the tensions in the political scene. The military has accused activist and critics of working for foreign powers. There is a lack of trust between the activists and the military because the military has intimidated the people.
The manner in which the military has handled the transition of power, has been at best, erratic. In the beginning, the military favored the muslim brotherhood because it was the biggest and the most organized political force. However, over the summer period, the generals have realized that islamists would dominate both the assembly and the drafting process and as a result, the military will have little control over the way the country was shaped. Having considered this, the military changed tactics and tried without success to get political forces to agree in advance to certain constitutional principles that shield the military from civilian scrutiny. Many Egyptians feel that the military are part of the old structure and have been fighting to preserve their status under the new structure. The Muslim brotherhood is proceeding cautiously in attempts to minimize confrontations with the military and also maintain a stable relationship with its key foreign partners like the United States. Despite leading in the elections, the Muslim brotherhood insists that it wants to share power with other political forces and it doesn’t plan to monopolize the drafting process. However, many businessmen and Egyptians believe that the problems facing Egypt are just too many and that any government formed is bound to fall short in the short term.
The multi-stage election in Egypt began on November 28, by which time it was evident that the Egyptians hard won confidence in how much they could influence change in their own government had all but evaporated. It had given way to frustration because over the past year the country has been torn by one crisis after the other. Political drift, demonstrations, labour strikes and frequent eruptions of sectarian violence between muslims and Christians have driven away investors and tourists, causing the economy to grind to a halt and as a result, life has increasing become hard for millions of poor people. The most disturbing part of the story in recent days has been the fracturing of the unity of purpose that prevailed during the protests. Basically, the people of Egypt seem to have become divided politically. There is a widening gap between the younger generation of people who started the revolt earlier in the year and the army generals who assisted to oust Mr Mubarak. This widening gap has also added to the tensions in the political scene. The military has accused activist and critics of working for foreign powers. There is a lack of trust between the activists and the military because the military has intimidated the people.
The manner in which the military has handled the transition of power, has been at best, erratic. In the beginning, the military favored the muslim brotherhood because it was the biggest and the most organized political force. However, over the summer period, the generals have realized that islamists would dominate both the assembly and the drafting process and as a result, the military will have little control over the way the country was shaped. Having considered this, the military changed tactics and tried without success to get political forces to agree in advance to certain constitutional principles that shield the military from civilian scrutiny. Many Egyptians feel that the military are part of the old structure and have been fighting to preserve their status under the new structure. The Muslim brotherhood is proceeding cautiously in attempts to minimize confrontations with the military and also maintain a stable relationship with its key foreign partners like the United States. Despite leading in the elections, the Muslim brotherhood insists that it wants to share power with other political forces and it doesn’t plan to monopolize the drafting process. However, many businessmen and Egyptians believe that the problems facing Egypt are just too many and that any government formed is bound to fall short in the short term.
No comments:
Post a Comment