The Night Before Egypt's Presidential Election

Egyptian voters are anxiously awaiting the election of their first civilian president. Many voters are likely to vote strategically for Amr Moussa, former head of the Arab League and a high ranking official in the Mubarak Government, to avoid the victory of an Islamist candidate, writes the Egyptian Independent. Some of the strongest figures in the race include  former Muslim Brotherhood leader Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh (Interview with Presidential Candidate Abdel Fotouh) and Hamdeen Sabbahi, a Nasserist. One potential leftist candidate in the race is Khaled Ali, a pro-revolutionary human rights lawyer. Ali bills himself as coming from the "heart of Tahrir Square."

Heba Afify writes that many onlookers regret the withdrawal of Mohamed ElBaradei from the race. El Baradei withdrew in protest of the military's handling of the transition, leaving revolutionaries with no unifying figure. My former colleague at AUC, Rabab El Mahdy notes that the presidential election is the start of the transitional period, not the end.

Abdel-Rahman Hussein reports that the new President's powers and duties have not been clearly outlined. It is not clear whether the new President will be able to dissolve Parliament or appoint a cabinet. In the absence of clearly stated powers, I argue, the civilian President risks becoming a puppet of the military junta known as the Supreme Council of Armed Forces. That being said, before the most recent constitutional amendments which took place in Egypt last spring, the President had sweeping powers.

Jadaliyya has a really nice overview of who is running in this race. Egypt's Presidential Election: Meet the Contenders. In case you are confused, here is the short version.

• Fotouh is a medical doctor. He is a long time Islamist. He was a main founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. He has since left the organization. I have heard him speak, and think he is a reasonable person, with respect for the secular, but is still a conservative Islamist.

• Khaled Ali is only 40, Egypt's youngest Presidential Candidate. He has been heavily involved in street protests as a leader and a participant throughout the revolution. He is known as the "candidate of the poor." He is the Executive Director of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights.  He is a dark horse, but two thumbs up!
• Selim Al-Awa is supposedly a moderate Islamist, but charged Christians with storing weapons in their churches. (?!!!?) He is a 69 year old lawyer, with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood that have not been clearly verified. He is looking for support from radical Islamist groups. Not my cup of tea.
• Hesham al Bastawisi is another lawyer with a blemish free record of fighting for an independent judiciary against the Mubarak regime. He is running on the ticket of the leftist Tagammu party. I like him, but he probably does not have a chance. 
• Abu Ezz-Al Hariry is running on the Socialist Popular Alliance ticket. He is a reform candidate, who is an experienced politician and a man of the people.
• Mohamed Morsy is the Muslim Brotherhood's last minute presidential nominee. He has a good shot, because he is MB. Nuff said. 
• Amr Moussa is of the old regime, but the front runner in this race. He is a 76 year old veteran politician who served as the permanent representative of Egypt to the United Nations. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs under Mubarak, and also Secretary General of the Arab League. He is secular, but a Mubarak crony. He has a very good chance. 
• Hamdeen Sabahi is a Nasserite, which invokes secularism and a moderate leftism, combined with pan-Arab nationalism. Nasser is a favorite memory of Egyptians right now, so this may work for Sabahi. He has a strong political history, and a platform of social justice. 
• Ahmed Shafiq served as Prime Minister in the days after the Mubarak Regime collapsed. He is a military man who has distanced himself from the Revolution. He is probably the SCAF's preferred candidate.

Well the excitement never stops! 

Good article on El Baradei's resignation

Check out this great article written by my former student John Ehab. It is about El Baradei's decision not to run for the presidency in Egypt. 

Following the high Islamist turnout in Egypt’s parliamentary elections, Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director of the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, and a major political player in the Egyptian revolution, withdrew from the upcoming presidential race. 

"My conscience does not allow me to run for the presidency or any other official position unless there is real democracy," ElBaradei said in his statement announcing his decision. He added that those who are currently holding power in Egypt, the Security Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), are no better than ousted former President Hosni Mubarak. 

One of the most important factors that effected ElBaradei’s pullout was the decision to establish the new constitution after the presidential elections, leaving the president’s role undefined until after the office is filled. 

"It is a great loss, but an honorable political stance," says George Ishak, prominent Egyptian opposition figure and member of the National Association for Change (NAC), which ElBaradei founded. 

Ishak anticipates that the military council and the Islamists, who make up around 70 percent of the newly elected parliament, will coordinate to back a candidate. “The two groups might surprise Egyptians by proposing a surprise candidate that will please both the Islamists and the SCAF."

Whether ElBaradei’s decision will limit the chances of secularists or liberals, it will not affect the influence that the Nobel Prize winner has had in helping build youth networks active in the Egyptian public sphere.

To read more: Egypt's warrior for democracy opts out.

List system in upcoming elections?

Election related news round up from Al Masry and Al Jazeera 

Today, Tuesday, Presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei called for the exclusive use of a list-based candidacy system in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

On Twitter, ElBaradei wrote, "Even if it requires the amendment of the Constitutional Declaration, the implementation of the list-based system for 100 percent [of parliamentary seats] is the best guarantee for the representation of all groups following decades of absence of democracy."

Speaking in Damietta at a rally, Presidential hopeful Amr Moussa has called on the ruling SCAF to swiftly hand over power to an elected civilian president. He also emphasized his opposition to the extension of the emergency law.


Youths in Daqahlia Governorate attacked Moussa and called him a remnant of Mubarak’s regime.