Maria’s note: And the new puppet is….

The Presidential Elections Commission has announced that Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate, will be the next president of Egypt. 

After one hour of tense wait, during which Farouk Sultan defended the honest work carried out by the Commission and commented the several irregularities denounced during the runoffs, the Chairman of PEC has revealed the name of the winner.

The ex-primer minister Ahmed Shafik got 48.27 per cent of the votes while Morsi took 51.73; a minimal number that has made a big difference for the supporters of both candidates. Morsi is the first president elected democratically, after a period of elections full of irregularities and alterations. 

Tahrir, packed with Morsi supporters bursts with joy, while Shafik supporters left the headquarters head bowed. What seems clear is that, with these results, the army will not see more protests for the while and the streets will be quieter.

The reality is that the new president will not hold the power in Egypt. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, perhaps predicting these results, issued constitutional amendments last week. The amendments prevent the Muslim Brotherhood and the new president from legislating of appointing the next parliament. In the current situation, the president will not play any role in writing the constitution either. This fact provokes the fury of certain sectors of society and, on the opposite, it is a relief for others.

SCAF are the ones ruling the show, what they have been doing for the past 60 years. They have left everything neatly tied.

Let’s hope for the best.