Election Results in Egypt
June 25, 2012
Topics: Arab Spring;
Mohammed Morsi was elected as the new president of Egypt on Sunday. Morsi represents the Muslim Brotherhood Party, which had been held back, often by force, for the past thirty years by former president Hosni Mubarack. Mubarack's military government, while broadly categorized as Muslim, was not an Islamist party, and allowed freedom of religion in Egypt and maintained alliances with Israel and the U.S.
Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood Party appears on the verge of dismantling the former treaties with Israel and the U.S., and has made many Christians and Jews nervous about potential restrictions on religious freedom. It is difficult to say with certainty how the new government will handle these concerns, but it seems likely that significant changes will be made.
Regardless of how Morsi handles his power and which direction he moves, it is noteworthy that this was the first truly free election in Egypt in history, and the new constitution guarantees Egyptians will have chances to elect new leaders every four years, much like the U.S.
