Shocking results. After two days of going to cast a vote deciding the future of the country, Egyptians are in disbelief. Ahmed Shafik, representing the old regime the Egyptian people revolted against, is in the second round!
As bizarre as it seems, we cannot deny the fact that Egyptians are still unaware of political dynamics to the extent needed to make decisions wisely.
My point here is not to sit down and cry over spilled milk. What happened has happened and we still have a choice, even if people may think that this argument is false, and let me explain why.
Looking at the results of the elections, percentages show that Mohamed Morsi, Muslim brotherhood candidate, got 24% of the eligible votes. On the other side of the spectrum Ahmed Shafik got 23% of the eligible votes. Jointly, this accounts for 47% of the number of people who actually went to vote. The rest of the votes, which constitute 53% of voters, were divided between Hamdeen Sabbahy and Abdel Moneim Aboul Fetouh, with Sabahi taking the lead despite noticeably little effort.
So to analyze this phenomena, it is slightly tangible to claim that the majority of the Egyptian people voted for the revolution but in scattered votes, due to the simple fact that the candidates representing the Revolution did not agree on one of them to unify the 53% of the votes.
However, this is democracy and it has its drawbacks sometimes.
Now, having said that, another argument would be that these results do not really crystallize the will of the Egyptian people. The voting turnout did not exceed the 50% of eligible voters, which means that these percentages that came out aren’t a reflection of the Egyptian population, but only those who went to vote. Some would argue that it is the fault of the people who did not go to vote and that they are not to complain about the results. I am not complaining, I am just stating a fact that will lead to my next argument.
Now the second round of elections comes with a very interesting aspect. It might turn out that only 50% or less voter turnout will again occur in this round, as voters cannot see Morsi or Shafik representing them, resorting simply to abstention. Also, and this is very interesting, the SCAF has successfully reinstalled the fear factor again throughout this past one and a half years. Playing carrot and stick with the Muslim Brotherhood, SCAF highlighted how the Muslim Brotherhood is manipulative and cannot be trusted by the other “revolutionary” forces. So they present Ahmed Shafik as a solution against the tyranny of majority of the Islamic block. In addition to that, the choice of Ahmed Shafik is a clever one. In case of him winning, which is a probable scenario, people will definitely go to the streets and SCAF will have the greatest opportunity to remain in power toppling all the dreams of the revolution down, this time being bloody and not peaceful anymore.
So, as a conclusion , both cases, whether Morsi wins or Shafik wins, both candidates have a slight taste of illegitimacy according to the percentages argument. Both have an agenda that does not encompass the desires of the Egyptian population: Shafik in his embodiment of the old regime and Morsi with the Muslim Brotherhood ultimate goal to overrule the political scene in Egypt.
My recommendation is to start organizing to face one of the two “evils”. Let us start by realizing our reality. It is a political game not a game of fortune. It is not by luck that these two candidates are in the second round. It is actually the ultimate result of both camps, the Islamic and the ex-regime, knowing exactly what they are doinr. Meanwhile revolutionaries are still arguing on who while fight their fight: Bardei, Aboul Fetouh, Hamdeen.
It is now the time to start being players of the game rather than just spectators. Ahmed Saeed, Free Egyptians Party President, stated that it wouldn’t make a difference who wins the presidential post. The two candidates do not represent the majority of Egyptians. Therefore, the third choice is to work on the ground for the next four years to try and cultivate the Egyptian population with ingredients of democracy and political culture.
I take this argument and capitalize on it. It is now our chance for the next coming 4 years to build up a political force that will constantly follow on the coming regime, whatever it is, and oppose it continuously, not giving it the chance to dominate over the political scene. Bottom line we need to be the pain in the neck and put them in the defensive all the time.
The time is now for us to realize how strong we are and how much stronger we can be. We still have a golden opportunity to be the decisive portion of the nation. Even if this election did not come with the result we are waiting for, our challenge is to bring the results we want to see within the coming 4 years.
For all those involved, there will be a general gathering to discuss the current political situation and propose suggestions on how to proceed. This will be an open space to exchange ideas and promote your point of view on collective political action and civic engagement. For all those interested, check out the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/335475606524499/
WE SAID THIS: Some people use the past to live the present and predict the future. Let us be the generation, that will use its past to make its present and build the future.
