The Egyptian Election
May 25, 2012
Topics: Arab Spring;
Egypt just finished its presidential election yesterday, and the votes have not yet been counted. However, based on exit polls it appears that Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, is likely to win. This election comes about fifteen months after the Egyptian Revolution removed former president Hosni Mubarak.
In the time since Mubarak's removal, Egypt held a parliamentary election to establish a new constitution, which led to this week's presidential election. The election featured 13 total candidates, and it looks like none of them will be able to win an outright majority of votes. The second place candidate is Ahmed Shafiq, a former official in Mubarak's government.
Shafiq and Morsi will face each other in a runoff election on June 16 and 17. The winner of that election will then become president. The two candidates represent parties with major differences. Morsi is the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, a group which would like to establish a theocracy in Egypt based on Islamic law. Shafiq is a former premier from Mubarak's presidency, and would attempt to keep Egypt much the same as it was before the revolution.
In third place is an Islamist named Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, and in fourth place is a populist leftist named Hamdeen Sabahi. Sabahi is probably the candidate most friendly to U.S. interests, and supports democratic law in Egypt. However, only the top two candidates will be eligible to run in the final election on June 16 and 17. None of the top three candidates represents a party that is favorable to U.S. interests, though it is certainly possible that alliances could be forged with any of them.
What do you think? Do you think the election will improve the lives of most Egyptians? Do you think the election will improve relations with the U.S.? What do you think of the Arab Spring?
