Egypt’s troubled transition
As two rulings plunge Egypt into political turmoil, we ask where this leaves the once fervent hopes of a revolution.
The latest twists and turns of Egypt’s troubled transition since the fall of Hosni Mubarak 16 months ago have left many wondering where the country is heading next.
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“The youth of the revolution are quite disenchanted with both the Muslim Brotherhood and the military council. Both have not presented any evidence that they really care for the future of this country …. They are both an extension of the Mubarak regime, they both have been head to head in this conflict and they’ve done nothing but to preserve their interest at the expense of the national interest.“ – Ahmed Naguib, the co-founder of the Council of Trustees of the Revolution in Egypt |
A cloud of uncertainty now hangs over its political future after two decisions handed down on Thursday – ahead of a scheduled run-off election to choose the new president this weekend.
The Muslim Brotherhood has warned that Egypt’s fragile democratic gains are under threat after a court ruling that dissolved the religious party-dominated parliament.
The Supreme Constitutional Court has also upheld the right of Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister in Hosni Mubarak’s government, to run for president.
This leaves Egypt with no parliament and concentrates power even more firmly in the hands of the generals who took over from Mubarak.
So, where does this leave Egypt’s transition to democracy? And what is left of the Egyptian revolution?
To answer this question and more, Inside Story is joined by guests: Sherif El-Haggan, a professor of conflict management at the American University in Cairo; Maged Reda Botros, a political science professor at Helwan University; and Ahmed Naguib, the co-founder of the Council of Trustees of the Revolution in Egypt.
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“Egypt has been subjected to an accident on the road and needs to be taken to an intensive care unit. And what many are doing is blaming each other [over] who caused the accident. We should hurry up and take Egypt to the intensive care unit and not just blame and accuse each other …. Every fraction is not listening to the other. We are leaving Egypt to die in the street rather than taking it to the intensive care unit to try to save it.” Sherif El-Haggan, a professor of conflict management at the American University in Cairo |
EGYPT’S LATEST TURMOIL:
- After excluding a dozen candidates, a final list of 13 vying for the top job was released in April
- On April 23, Egypt’s military council approved a law banning former top officials from running for president
- Ten candidates were disqualified from the presidential race, including Mubarak’s former spy chief Omar Suleiman and Muslim Brotherhood politician Khairat al-Shater
- A few days later, Egypt’s election commission allowed Hosni Mubarak’s former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq back into the presidential race after it had initially disqualified him
- In the first round of the election on May 28, no candidate managed to win 50 per cent of the vote
- The election committee said that Mohammed Morsi (the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate) and Shafiq would proceed to the second round of Egypt’s presidential vote on June 16 and 17, having each won the most votes
- One day before the ruling, the minister of justice granted the military the powers to arrest and detain civilians