Broad Discontent Boils Over Egyptian Elections

Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, was featured on Press TV News Analysis on May 13, 2012 discussing the national presidential elections in Egypt. Azikiwe analyzed the political history of Egypt since the early 1970s., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Broad Discontent Boils Over Egyptian Elections

Two candidates to face off on June 16-17 amid ongoing demonstrations

By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Mass demonstrations continued in several Egyptian cities on June 1 amid growing dissatisfaction and unrest over the electoral process that led to the run-off elections between Freedom and Justice Party (FPJ) candidate Muhammad Morsi and the so-called independent but military-allied Ahmed Shafiq. Protests took place in Alexandria, Suez, Port Said, North Sinai, Cairo and other provinces demanding that the presidential bid by Shafiq be ended due to his ties to the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak.

These rallies and marches were called by the Revolutionary Youth Union (RYU) and labeled ‘Disenfranchisement Friday’ to represent the lack of progressive politics within the whole debate surrounding the future of this North African state of 80 million people. The RYU encompasses a broad spectrum of organizations who are also demanding the enforcement of the Political Disenfranchisement Law which bars officials from the previous National Democratic Party (NDP) period of rule over the country during the leadership of the former President Hosni Mubarak.

The elections results were a reflection of the lack of enthusiasm for the entire process. Reports indicate that only 46 percent of the Egyptian electorate went to the polls to choose between 13 hopefuls.

The revolutionary youth and workers who were the vanguard of the mass uprising beginning in late January 2011 feel they have no candidate in the run-off who speaks specifically to their demands related to both domestic and foreign policy concerns. Both of the run-off candidates gained less than one-quarter of the votes and were only one percentage point apart from each other. (Morsi, 24.77 percent, Shafiq, 23.66 percent)

In the immediate aftermath of the release of the official results on May 28, a crowd of Egyptians demonstrated at Tahrir Square. The campaign headquarters of Shafiq was torched in apparent anger over the continued role of leading Mubarak-era figures within the political landscape of the country.

Participants in the June 1 demonstrations say they do not favor either Morsi or Shafiq as the final contestants. They see the outcome of the verification process for the first round and the results of the vote as a manifestation of manipulation by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which still welds the ultimate political power in Egypt.

One demonstrator, Ahmed Abdel-Fattah said that “I don’t want either candidate because we didn’t benefit from either.” (Associated Press, June 1)

I am here and I don’t want Shafiq or Morsi because Shafiq spilled our children’s blood,” said a woman named Magda, who claimed that she lost her son during the uprising last year. “I paid the price of this revolution upfront.” (Associated Press, June 1)

Magda asked, “As for the Brotherhood, they sat in parliament and what have they done?” The present parliament in Egypt is dominated by the FPJ and the Salifist Al-Nour Party where they hold over seventy percent of the seats.

The RYU emphasized in a statement issued on May 31, “Shafiq is the prime minister of the Battle of the Camel. He was a witness and a partner in the death of Egypt’s pure youth.” (Ahram Online, May 31)

This statement continued saying “He (Shafiq) was also a partner of Mubarak in destroying the political, economic and social life of Egypt. The elections were rigged and forced people to choose between a member of the old regime or a Muslim Brotherhood candidate.”

Another small left party, the Democratic Front (DF), has also said that there is no fundamental difference between the run-off candidates. “We are stuck between two right-wing conservative powers—the military and the Brotherhood,” said Hosni Abdel Rahim, a DF member. (IPS, May 31)

The Role of the Military in the Elections and Post-Elections Process

It was the Presidential Electoral Commission (PEC) appointed by the military that announced the results of the first round of the poll. In the process of announcing the results, the electoral commission specifically cited the military as the guarantors of the freedom and security of the country.

Several complaints were filed against alleged irregularities in the voting process and tabulations. The Nasserite candidate Hamdeen Sabahi was the first to call for a recount of the votes but his appeal was dismissed by the PEC.

Meanwhile the FPJ is attempting to negotiate with other candidates representing political parties and social interests in the country. Their main campaign thrust is to link the potential of the return of the Mubarak-era to a victory by Shafiq.

Shafiq on the other hand, is trying to distance himself from his own history as an air force commander and the last prime minister of the NDP regime. Therefore, the FPJ is holding discussions around the appointment of a cabinet led by Mohamed El-Baradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with a civil constitution.

The FPJ efforts, called the Revolutionary Alliance, promises to complete work on a new constitution within six months after the run-off elections. Within the terms of the constitution, there will be a civil state, full citizenship rights to all Egyptian irrespective of religious affiliation, the maintenance of the second article of the 1971 constitution which proclaims Islamic law but provides for non-Muslims to refer to their own beliefs in personal affairs. (Aswat Masriya, May 31)

Prof. Hillal Khashan of American University in Beirut said of the electoral process that “I think the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) is playing an elaborate game. They know that the election of Dr. Ahmed Shafiq would spell doom for Egypt—this action is a doomsday scenario.” (Press TV, June 1)

Khashan goes on to say “I don’t think he (Shafiq) would be able to make it because that would take Egypt back to square one. What will happen is that Dr. Morsi will make it. But the SCAF wants to make sure he is tamed before he becomes president.”

Although the state of emergency which Egypt has been living under since the assassination of former President Anwar Sadat in October 1981 has been allowed to expire, the SCAF has vowed to continue the oversight of the national security of the country. The military council says that its responsibility for the country’s security comes “as a result of its national and historic duty.” (Ahram Gate, May 31)

The Economic Crisis and the Role of the U.S. and Israel

Democratic Front supporter Hosni Abdel Rahim says that “Young people are now very angry as they feel they have nothing to lose. The economy is on the verge of collapse, employment opportunities are limited and now the one issue they put their hope into, their political freedom, hangs in the balance. “

A lifeline to the Egyptian economy is the annual $1.3 billion allocated by the United States. The government is said to be the second largest recipient of aid from Washington next to the State of Israel.

Although Egyptian natural gas was sold for many years to Israel through a pipeline running in the Sinai, the recurrent sabotage and political problems related to mass demonstrations since 2011 has suspended the export of Cairo’s most valuable resource.

On June 1 as demonstrations were being held across Egypt, motorists waited in long lines to get fuel. This was the second day of the nationwide crisis which the government blamed on electrical shortages at a main fuel supplier.

Tourism, a mainstay of foreign exchange, has been down severely since the uprisings of 2011. With the scarcity of hard currency, debts are mounting for fuel supplies and other imported commodities.

Any new government in Egypt will have to seriously address the economic crisis of large-scale unemployment and poverty. In addition, the 1979 separate peace treaty with Israel will come under increasing pressure irrespective of whether the FPJ or Shafiq is able to take office after June 16-17.

Washington’s role in Egypt will therefore come under even sharper scrutiny. Anti-U.S. sentiment runs high in the country and any viable political solution to the country’s problems will inevitably involve a reconfiguration of its relationship with the leading imperialist state and its ruling class.