generalspeaking

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Voting for Tahrir Square

Hedging their bets is what the analysts did, unable to determine what the final outcome of the latest round in the run-off Egyptian presidential election would result in. A precipitate announcement of success by the Muslim Brotherhood, claiming to have received over 52% of the popular vote with 90% of the polls counted. With, unsurprisingly enough, Ahmed Shafiq's supporters claiming the very same for their candidate. And since he is also the candidate for the military, time will weigh heavily until confirmation occurs.

Regardless, Mohammed Morsi's victory celebration may be short-lived in any event. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has taken the precaution of pulling the literal rug of power out from under the Brotherhood foothold. Their majority presence in the parliament has been nullified and parliament dissolved. That much they cannot turn back. The SCAF has returned to its former control of the legislature and state budget and is prepared to formulate new rules for the committee it will appoint to draw up a new constitution.

And this time there will be no interference with its intention to insert into that constitution issues and guarantees that will ensure it retains and maintains its power advantage. Although it heatedly denies that anything remotely resembling a political coup has taken place. The military is as shattered, they claim, as anyone else that the court reached the conclusion it did, to shut down parliament. This was not as they envisioned, not at all.

"The presidential election has proved beyond doubt that the revolution was hijacked and excluded from the political scene, which has been seized exclusively by the military and the Brotherhood", complained an Egyptian activist: "I'm too confused to choose from the criminal and the coward - I'm voting for Tahrir Square". Much good that will do her and the other leftist and liberals who moan that their revolution has been forfeited and abducted.