Egypt's presidential election: A farce?
Egyptians cast their ballots, and the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi claims victory. But Egypt's powerful military may not give up power that easily
The Egyptian media has declared Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood the winner of the first competitive presidential election in the country's history. Meanwhile, supporters of Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister of the deposed-and-jailed Hosni Mubarak, insisted that their candidate had, in fact, won the run-off. (Official results aren't expected until Thursday.) But either way, the new president might enjoy little power. In the days leading up to the historic vote, a military-friendly court dissolved the recently elected parliament, and the army granted itself sweeping powers over legislation and the drafting of a new constitution. (The military still vows to hand over power to the new president at the end of June.) Was the presidential election a big step forward, or just a cruel joke on the Egyptian people?
This military takeover makes a mockery of the Arab Spring: The revolutionaries of Tahrir Square must be devastated, says Samia Nakhoul at Reuters. They put their lives on the line, and they wound up with "a toothless president, a dissolved parliament, and an ascendant military in a country without a constitution." This isn't "what most Egyptians had in mind when they poured onto the streets to drive out Mubarak." Egypt's democracy isn't dead, but it's back to square one.
"Egypt's chapter of Arab Spring ends not as scripted"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Things could be worse: It's tempting to dismiss this as a disaster, says Paul Mirengoff at Power Line. But the truth is that the Muslim Brotherhood "has less underlying respect for democracy than the military." The Brotherhood wants to use the ballot box to establish Islamist rule — and the military appears to be trying to "balance the aspirations of the Arab Spring and the imperative of not seeing the country fly out of control and into radical hands."
"The Egyptian military steps in, probably for the better"
Egypt's future is still up in the air: Muslim Brotherhood supporters are celebrating in the streets, says Yolande Knell at BBC News, but "this was not a clear victory" for them, or for anybody. With the role of the presidency yet to be decided, and the military now claiming the right to spell it out, it's unclear how much it matters who gets the job. Maybe this was where the Arab Spring was destined to lead, to "a power struggle between the Brotherhood and the military."
"Egypt's army vows to hand power to elected president"
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - May 5, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - annoying noises, gag orders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 highly educational cartoons about student protests
Cartoons Artists take on apolitical camping, the National Guard, and more
By The Week US Published
-
French schools and the scourge of teenage violence
Talking Point Gabriel Attal announces 'bold' intervention to tackle rise in violent incidents
By The Week UK Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published