Egypt's New Excercise in Democracy

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 23, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

              When pro-Democracy leftist protesters camped out in Cairo’s Tahrir Square Jan. 21, 2011 demanding an end to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year autocratic reign, few imagined today’s free elections in Egypt.  It can’t get any more ironic that Mubarak inherited the state from Anwar Sedat after his unceremonious assassination by the Muslim Brotherhood, the leading Islamic group now poised to win presidential elections, with Mohamed Mursi standing a good chance to become Egypt’s next president. Today’s Egypt has a rich colonial history, where Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser led the revolution eventually evicting the British June 18, 1953.  Nasser completed Egypt’s liberation, dislodging the British from the Suez Canal in 1956.  Nasser became president June 23, 1956, dying a broken man only three years after losing the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.  Whoever becomes Egypt’s next president will have to deal with the same Egypt-Israeli peace treaty that cost Sedat his life.

            Mubarak, 84, finds himself wheeled into a Cairo courtroom on a gurney facing charges June 2 for murdering up to 900 pro-Democracy protestors in Tahrir Square and fleecing Egypt for the past 30 years.  His two sons, Gamal and Alaam, his former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and business tycoon Hussein Salem all face 5-15 years in prison or the death penalty.  Under this backdrop, Egyptians, some 50 million, flocked to the polls supervised internationally by the Carter Center to decide the fate of the new Egypt.  U.S. officials must do things differently this time around.  When Gazans went to the polls Jan. 26, 2006, also supervised by the Carter Center, the Bush administration rejected the vote because Hamas, a State Dept.-recognized terror group, won parliamentary elections.  Failure to recognize the duly elected government caused Hamas to evict the Palestinian Authority from Gaza June 14, 2007. 

            Rejecting free elections in Gaza caused the current Palestinian civil war that leaves the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in shambles.  With far more at stake in Egypt, the Middle East’s most populous nation, the consequences of another U.S. rejection could have far worse consequences for the region.  However much past or current terrorism is  linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, the U.S. and EU must recognize the will of the Egyptian people.  It’s up to the international community to work with Egypt’s version of Islamic law to find common ground with recognized U.N. standards.  Painting the Muslim Brotherhood with the same broad brush as Hamas will push Egypt into more chaos.  While no one knows the outcome of today’s vote, Egyptians get to pick the party that they believe can lead Egypt in the post-Mubarak era.  Early polling shows the Muslim Brotherhood in the lead.

            Regardless of who wins today’s vote, the two top finishers will compete in a June 21 runoff.  Mubarak’s last prime minister 70-year-old Ahmed Sharfiq, also on the ballot, met violence at polling place.  While it’s difficult to get reliable polling, it appears the electorate is poised to reject former regime leftovers.  Apart from political parties, Egyptians voted for change, much the way it started Jan. 21, 2011 when pro-Democracy protesters in Tahrir Square endured violence, eventually driving Mubarak from power Feb 11, 2011.  However many protesters died in Tahrir Square, today’s vote must open a new chapter in today’s Egypt.  “We must prove that the times when we stayed at home and someone would chose for us are over,” said Islam Mohammed, a swimming coach waiting to vote at a polling station.  Mubarak held dummy elections for his 30-year reign of power.

            Egypt’s military has been in control since Mubarak was driven from Cairo into exile in the Sinai Peninsula’s Sharm el-Sheikh.  Once a part of Israel after the 1967 Six-Day War, it took the courage in 1978 of Egyptian President Anwar Sedat, Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin and former President Jimmy Carter to return the Sinai to Egypt.  Whatever the past beefs, the Muslim Brotherhood—or whoever wins the Egyptian elections—must honor past treaties to preserve the peace.  Nothing could be worst for Egypt than returning to the same myth that eventually killed Nasser:  That Egypt, with its Arab brothers, could destroy Israel.  If the Islamic Brotherhood eventually wins the election, Mursi should state clearly his intent to maintain all existing treaties and respect all of Egypt’s religious groups.  No one—other than perhaps Jews—has suffered more under Islamic intolerance than Coptic Christians.

            On the dawn of a new beginning, whoever emerges from the Egyptian elections must receive the support of the U.S. and international community.  If the Muslim Brotherhood wins free-and-fair elections, global powers must avoid the mistakes of Gaza and give the new government the support needed to succeed.  “It’s not going to be smooth,” said Steven Cook with Washington’s Council on Foreign Relations.  “No only are there economic problems to resolve, but Egyptians are going through a wrenching period in which they are trying to define what kind of political system they want, what kind of society they want, what Egypt stands for, and its proper place in the region and the world.  These are not easy matters,” attesting to the tough road ahead.  With patient U.S. and U.N. support, Egypt can have its Islamic government and, at the same time, conform to acceptable international standards.

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