The Egyptian Revolution made headlines all over the world last year when rebel forces managed to overthrow authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak in hopes of ending emergency law and promoting freedom and justice. Upon Mubarak’s resignation during the revolt, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) was temporarily in charge of governing the state, leaving the position of President vacant.
Now Egypt has reached another milestone in its history, holding its first presidential election since the revolt. The winner of Egyptian presidency is Mohammed Morsi, leader of the Freedom and Justice Party, which was founded after the revolution by the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. His victory marks the first win for an Islamist head of state in the Arab world. Morsi had a narrow win over the opposing candidate Ahmed Shafik, who had been prime minister during Mubarak’s regime.
In order to prevent the improper use of military forces by the president, the SCAF has made changes to the Constitution. Unlike during Mubarak’s regime, the chief officer in the SCAF is now primarily in charge of the military, and any military orders from the president must first be approved.
The recent election, which occurred on May 23rd to 24th and June 16th to 17th, is the second that actually featured more than one candidate. The previous one in 2005 had established Mubarak for his fifth consecutive six-year term as Egyptian leader. There were originally 23 candidates, but almost half were disqualified for unspecified reasons. Three candidates were disqualified due to their ties to the previous government, including Ahmed Shafik, who later appealed their decision and was granted permission to run. Another candidate dropped out, leaving 12 official candidates in the race. The first round of elections narrowed the candidates to two. The second round’s results are broken down into 51.7% for Morsi and 48.3% to Shafik.
Voter turnout in the first round was about 43.4 % of eligible Egyptian voters, which was low compared to the 2005 elections. All in all, the process went smoothly, though a few allegations have arisen, questioning the verity of the results. The interior ministry was accused of handing out almost one million extra ID cards, so that their soldiers could vote for Shafik. An investigation will be held to look into it, though Morsi’s victory made such efforts unsuccessful.
The success of the elections and the implementation of a new leader is hope for future peace in Egypt. The freedom and Justice Party will govern based on Islamic Law. They have even voiced their support for women in cabinet. The party also supports free-market capitalism, which leaves the control of the economy with the people. Egyptian enterprises may be run and owned by the citizens, without government intervention. Though there is no way to tell what what may happen in the future, hopefully with the new government, there really will be more freedom and justice for the citizens. It certainly seems to be a drastic improvement over the last one.
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