They waited peacefully despite the violent protests that have flared up for days leading up to the kickoff votes.
This is the first time that some people in Egypt will have a say in shaping the future of their country - a right that was suppressed and rigged regularly under the autocrat’s 30-year-rule.
In a country with 80 million people, and among the lowest literacy rates in the Arab world, roughly 50 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in the elections for the 498 seats in the lower house, which will run until January 10 next year.
The next phase of voting, which is scheduled to take place in late January and run through March 11, will determine who fills 180 of the 270-seat upper house. The new president appoints the 90 remaining seats to individual candidates.
Though the ballots are a significant first step towards embracing the democratic demands aired during Egypt’s time in the Arab Spring, challenges of a complicated voting system and of the impact those results will have on the new Egypt, will long outlive the prescheduled voting stages.
The country is currently under a transitional military rule – the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces - which has faced significant criticism from the many protestors who wanted Mr. Mubarak out of power last February.
The election trend in Egyptian history has been anything but fair, and Mr. Mubarak liked to keep the parliament that way as well, with little or no room for maneuvering among candidates who might oppose his regime.
The Muslim Brotherhood, now projected to have success with their Freedom and Justice Party in the first round of elections, for example, were defeated immediately last year during the parliamentary elections under the tight hold of Mr. Mubarak’s National Democratic Party.
The military, essentially, has supported the interests of the president and vice versa, but things are different now. The former leader is no longer around to keep a close eye on the military’s position in the country, and Egyptians (from young people to the now-vocal Muslim Brotherhood, who, in particular, cannot necessarily relate to the “new Egypt” vision) are holding onto the potential for non-military rule.
Bernard Gwertzman, consulting editor for the Council on Foreign Relations, asked, “If the military is going to give up power, wouldn’t there be a risk of real anarchy in Egypt?"
Perhaps, but how likely is the military to give up power is the question grinding in Egyptians minds, and who will assume that role if they do?
Steven A. Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations added, “There is no agreement of one authority who would take the reigns here, and it’s unclear to me who would want to, given the overall complex, difficult problems conflating Egypt right now.”
Regardless, the military has certainly reinvigorated the spirit of revolution that swept the Arab region, and perhaps added to the haziness that an unclear power transition brings to the country.
“The political dynamics are very similar to what has happened in January and February,” Cook said. “And people are no longer willing to be intimidated by the military; virtually anything can happen. The Supreme Council of the Armed forces is under similar pressure [as Mr. Mubarak was right before he was ousted] now.”
But contrary to popular thought that the military wants to hold on tight to its power, Cook said it may be quite the opposite.
“I am a leading proponent that the military does want to give up power, but in an orderly fashion,” he said. He emphasized that the military wants to salvage as much as Mr. Mubarak’s regime – the parts that served their interests, including economic - as possible.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the main group of the Islamists in Egypt, according to Cook, have been better at organizing during this time than their secular, liberal counterparts.
As poll results pile in, and continue to progress over the next several months, it will be more clear whether or not the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups will be able to leverage the unfavorable view of the military and ability to organize better than young protestors to their political benefit.
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Elections and Unrest: The Future of Egypt
November 28, 2011
They waited peacefully despite the violent protests that have flared up for days leading up to the kickoff votes.
This is the first time that some people in Egypt will have a say in shaping the future of their country - a right that was suppressed and rigged regularly under the autocrat’s 30-year-rule.
In a country with 80 million people, and among the lowest literacy rates in the Arab world, roughly 50 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in the elections for the 498 seats in the lower house, which will run until January 10 next year.
The next phase of voting, which is scheduled to take place in late January and run through March 11, will determine who fills 180 of the 270-seat upper house. The new president appoints the 90 remaining seats to individual candidates.
Though the ballots are a significant first step towards embracing the democratic demands aired during Egypt’s time in the Arab Spring, challenges of a complicated voting system and of the impact those results will have on the new Egypt, will long outlive the prescheduled voting stages.
The country is currently under a transitional military rule – the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces - which has faced significant criticism from the many protestors who wanted Mr. Mubarak out of power last February.
The election trend in Egyptian history has been anything but fair, and Mr. Mubarak liked to keep the parliament that way as well, with little or no room for maneuvering among candidates who might oppose his regime.
The Muslim Brotherhood, now projected to have success with their Freedom and Justice Party in the first round of elections, for example, were defeated immediately last year during the parliamentary elections under the tight hold of Mr. Mubarak’s National Democratic Party.
The military, essentially, has supported the interests of the president and vice versa, but things are different now. The former leader is no longer around to keep a close eye on the military’s position in the country, and Egyptians (from young people to the now-vocal Muslim Brotherhood, who, in particular, cannot necessarily relate to the “new Egypt” vision) are holding onto the potential for non-military rule.
Bernard Gwertzman, consulting editor for the Council on Foreign Relations, asked, “If the military is going to give up power, wouldn’t there be a risk of real anarchy in Egypt?"
Perhaps, but how likely is the military to give up power is the question grinding in Egyptians minds, and who will assume that role if they do?
Steven A. Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations added, “There is no agreement of one authority who would take the reigns here, and it’s unclear to me who would want to, given the overall complex, difficult problems conflating Egypt right now.”
Regardless, the military has certainly reinvigorated the spirit of revolution that swept the Arab region, and perhaps added to the haziness that an unclear power transition brings to the country.
“The political dynamics are very similar to what has happened in January and February,” Cook said. “And people are no longer willing to be intimidated by the military; virtually anything can happen. The Supreme Council of the Armed forces is under similar pressure [as Mr. Mubarak was right before he was ousted] now.”
But contrary to popular thought that the military wants to hold on tight to its power, Cook said it may be quite the opposite.
“I am a leading proponent that the military does want to give up power, but in an orderly fashion,” he said. He emphasized that the military wants to salvage as much as Mr. Mubarak’s regime – the parts that served their interests, including economic - as possible.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the main group of the Islamists in Egypt, according to Cook, have been better at organizing during this time than their secular, liberal counterparts.
As poll results pile in, and continue to progress over the next several months, it will be more clear whether or not the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups will be able to leverage the unfavorable view of the military and ability to organize better than young protestors to their political benefit.
