Egypt: No, the revolution is not over

This article is part of our special coverage of the Egyptian Elections 2011/2012 [in].

On 23 and 24 May, the eyes of the world turned to look to Egypt as the country celebrated the first presidential elections after the spectacular revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.

Some 660 applicants were submitted for the approval of his application (which Bassem Sabry took the blogger to make a humorous list [en] of those who were not submitted to the presidency). Among the candidates included not only members of the Muslim Brotherhood and his Party for Freedom and Justice (PLJ), but also prominent members of the old regime (known as "Felul 'or' relics').

The list was reduced to 23 official candidates, of whom eventually rejected 10 others. Therefore, the election of May 23 were a total of 13 candidates [in] from Khaled Ali, "the candidate of the revolution," Mohamed Morsi, "spare tire" of the JLP.

Egyptian presidential election in a trap. Carlos Latuff drawing.

The final results will be announced officially on 29 May, but interest is multiplied to go the polls closing. The counting began immediately, and the results were made public in real time on several TV channels and through different live news blogs.

Information and counting

As in the last parliamentary elections, it launched a broad public campaign to detect irregularities. Was recorded [in] constant complaints [in] in different social networks. Claims of irregularities, including illegal campaigns have been attributed [in] especially supporters of the JLP candidate, Mohamed Morsi , and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik .

The interest in Twitter under the tag # EgyPresElection , # EgyElections and # EgyPresElex , was so great that people already discussed [in] and struggled when he recorded only 2% [in] of the vote.

This led to jokes about agitation and sleepless nights which presaged:

@ Bassem_sabry : Flash: Hosni Mubarak wins by 99.9% of the vote.

Vicosalama @ @ bassem_sabry aahh the good old days, without any stress

Twitter users @ Iyad El-Baghdadi and @ GalalAmrG prepared a document for further collaborative developments in the count. I helped to compile the final results by providing the numbers published by news sites Ahram Online [en] and Aswat Masriya [in].

Results as they came, Mohamed Morsi Ahmed Shafik and loomed as the most likely candidates for the second round of elections on 16 and 17 June. By inprevista, the Nasser Hamdeen Sabahi had a spectacular rise:

@ HaniShukrallah : URGENT URGENT: Sabbahi scale to the second!

No joke! ¿¿¿Free elections in Egypt??? Carlos Latuff drawing.

The high number of votes he received was one of the biggest surprises of this election, especially because in Alexandria [en] (a traditional stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood) in the district of Imbaba [in], north of Cairo ( a feud Salafi), a high percentage of votes went to Sabahi. Then fell to third place, where it remains, as the final tally.

However, many voters boycotted [in] the elections because they felt they were undemocratic and would only serve to strengthen [in] the domain of the military over the country.

Many people's fears were confirmed by the statements [in] allegedly made ​​by a spokesman for Ahmed Shafik, in which he said that "the revolution is over."

The revolution is not over

When the final tally was announced on the night of May 25, reactions bolted on Twitter:

@ MohAbdElHamid : If anything we have seen today is that our predictions are stupid. This revolution is unpredictable.

@ DaliaEzzat : Egyptians are forced to choose between two forms of fascism. For many, this is not an easy choice. In both cases, the consequences will be severe.

@ Gsquare86 : The key is to get organized! If we learn anything from Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] is that even if they are unpopular in the street, your machine works!

@ Shadihamid : The Muslim Brothers are obsessed with preserving the "Tanzim" or organization. In that sense, can be considered as winners.

Many of the discussions focused on the boycott of the second round:

@ Glcarlstrom : I think that participation will be an even greater factor in the second round: imagine that there will be plenty of voters with no enthusiasm?

@ RawahBadrawi : If ever there were grounds for a boycott, it is now. Morsi vote as a way to achieve the objectives of the revolution is an oxymoron.

Second Turn inside of the Egyptian elections - a choice? Carlos Latuff cartoon.

And while some [in] have already decided to boycott the elections because "immoral and shameful" other [in] believe that this would be a big mistake, because the votes would cede Morsi.

It has also raised the question of which party to vote Shafik corresponds to the Coptic Christian minority. Although the Coptic Church does not officially endorse any candidate, many Copts fear [in] the possibility that a member of the Muslim Brotherhood president. Some people believe [in] that Christians have soared to vote Shafik, an idea rejected as " misleading "[in] and refuted [in] in numerous reviews [ar].

Since Aboul Fotouh, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was in fourth place, appears [in] denying their support Morsi [in], there have been many speculations about possible coalitions [in] that could be formed. Many people have asked recently renovated applies Political Rights Act [en] (the Act "anitfelul) and to prohibit Shafik presented to the second round:

@ Amany90 : Egyptian lawyers should join NOW to take to implement the law Shafiq insulating or accusing him of corruption. Get to work.

@ Mfatta7 : Shafiq's presence in the list of candidates is legally controversial and may well be disqualified by a court ruling before the second round.

@ Mfatta7 : The SCAF [military] remains in control of the Constitutional Court, which has control over the possibility of eliminating Shafiq of the presidential race.

At this time, many are torn between surprise and fear, imagining the worst that could happen, but others have dedicated themselves to ask for [in] the country to continue forward on behalf of all who gave their lives for the revolution. And no, despite the possible outcome of this election, the revolution is not over: statistics show [in] that 75% of Egyptians voted against a president of the Muslim Brotherhood and 60% against the return of the old regime.

This article is part of our special coverage of the Egyptian Elections 2011/2012 [in].

Written by Rayna St. · Translated by Lourdes Sada · View original post [en] · Comments (0)
Share it: Meneame · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper