Voice of the People | The Majalla. Egypt Unwrapped New polling data gives clues to Egypt's future. Muslim women in Cairo walk the streets Reporters are forever on the hunt for “real people” in their quest to unpick the fabric of a country. But where are they? How do they think and live? And in the case of Egypt, who are the so-called real people who will decide the fate of the Arab world’s most influential country? The Egyptian uprising was in many ways driven by the young, liberal and often secular types who co-ordinated the insurrection from their laptops and Twitter accounts. The same can be said for the deadly violence which shook Cairo and other areas of Egypt over the last eight weeks. Not that a viewer of the nightly news back in Britain would have known, what with the thousands of stone-throwing civilians calling in unison for the downfall of the ruling Military Council. The move by Egypt’s general prosecutor has sparked outrage from many of the country’s liberal groups.
Alastair Beach More Posts. Who are the True ‘Fulul’ of Post-Revolution Egypt? | Fikra Forum. The literal meaning of Arabic verb falla is ‘to nick a blade of a sword and make it jagged,’ or ‘to blunt an object.’ So if a sword, for instance, is made jagged, it has ‘fulul’ (notches), or it has lost its edge and requires smoothening and sharpening.
When the term is applied to a nation, it implies a defeated or a vanquished people. In the wake of the Egyptian revolution, the term ‘fulul’ has been used to connote those loyal to the deposed Mubarak regime or those who benefitted from it, and has inaccurately been translated into English as ‘remnants.’ The question is, have the cronies of the previous regime lost their power and become the proverbial blunted sword? The mistaken rendering of the word fulul has in part led to the state of paralysis and the conflict that is stripping the Egyptian revolution of its worth today. But the truth is that no chink has been made, no defeating blow delivered yet. In the twilight years of his rule, Mubarak’s age stunted his capabilities.
Egypt's Parliament gets to work. The formal seating of Egypt's Parliament today, after a grueling two months of elections and political turmoil, marks the end of one stage of Egypt's transition. The Islamist-dominated Parliament will begin its work without clearly defined powers or responsibilities amidst a fractured, suspicious political environment.
We will now see whether this Parliament will be able to deliver on the hopes invested in electoral legitimacy and emerge as an effective check on the power of the SCAF. In many ways, the real struggles start now. The first test of the resilience of this path will come in two days, the anniversary of the January 25 revolution. I don't expect the coming months, during which a constitution is supposedly to be drafted and Presidential elections organized and the transition to civilian rule completed, to go smoothly or easily. The elected Parliament and the expected protests in Tahrir represent two different claims to legitimacy in post-Mubarak Egypt. Replacing Mubarak - Interview with Amr Moussa. Amr Moussa has emerged from Egypt's revolutionary tumult as the front-runner in the upcoming presidential election. But for this quintessential establishment man -- he served as foreign minister under Hosni Mubarak and then as secretary-general of the Arab League -- capturing the top seat in Egyptian politics is fraught with pitfalls.
The revolutionaries on the streets scorn his ties with the previous regime, and the new kingmakers in Cairo -- the Islamists and the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces -- are sure to demand concessions in return for their support. It's not easy to walk that line, particularly with all the hot-button issues in Egypt's future. Here, Moussa tackles them all in an exclusive interview with Foreign Policy: the military's future role in politics, the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, and the upcoming U.S. presidential election, among others.
Foreign Policy: Do you believe the Egyptian Army should ultimately be under civilian control? AM: No. Meet the Head of Egypt’s Presidential Election Commission. Egypt is gearing up for the final stages of a tumultuous transitional period under the rule of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and preparing to enter a new phase following a scheduled handover of government authority to a newly-elected president at the end of June. The much-anticipated presidential vote is scheduled to be held on 23 and 24 May to elect Egypt's first president since Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in a popular uprising one year ago. The man in charge of overseeing the poll is Farouk Sultan, the bespectacled, white-haired chair of the Supreme Constitutional Court and head of the presidential elections committee. Sultan was appointed by Mubarak to head the Supreme Constitutional Court in 2009 in a move that sparked controversy at the time due to his relatively modest judicial background, a lack of experience in constitutional law and a legal reputation among many as that of a regime loyalist with little independence from the executive.
All the President's Men | The Majalla. Egypt Unwrapped Egypt's streets are calm after months of deadly rioting. But the political situation remains uncertain, and the future is far from clear. The presidential race is gearing up, but nobody knows what to fight for. Amr Moussa is the frontrunner for the Egyptian Presidency, but will the next president be left with any authority? TV weathermen have a cosy life in Egypt – a country where the climate is as predictable as a Russian UN veto. The wind, for instance, which blows upstream along the Nile for nine days out of ten, is so obliging that the ancient hieroglyph for travelling north or south simply showed a boat with its sails full or furled.
If only the politics was so simple. Yet all is not as it seems. The person who is eventually elected – and polling still suggests that former Arab League chief and Mubarak-era minister Amr Moussa is the frontrunner – will find himself in the bizarre position of not knowing for certain what his powers will be. There is just one hitch. Egypt’s Disqualified Front-runners. On : Tuesday, 17 Apr, 2012 Hearts and Minds Egypt’s election commission announced that 10 presidential candidates are disqualified from participating in the elections. Amongst the 10 are three prominent political actors, including the representative of the Muslim Brotherhood and former spy chief Omar Suleiman. Their subsequent appeal against this decision will, no doubt, add to confusion and frustration surrounding the elections that are a few weeks away.
Khairat al-Shater, Omar Suleiman and Hazem Salah Abu Ismail (Credit: Reuters) On Saturday 14 April, The Supreme Presidential Election Commission in Egypt announced that 10 of the 23 candidates of the presidential election had been barred from the race. The reasons for the disqualification of these leading candidates differed.
The decision by the Electoral Commission took few by surprise. Moreover, the announcement appeared even handed as the commission chose the most extreme candidates in each of the leading camps. Paula Mejia More Posts. Playing it Smart. On : Monday, 30 Apr, 2012 Hearts and Minds As protests over the upcoming presidential elections continue, El Baradei announces a new political party. Though it is technically too late for him to run, the decision to announce the party now and not participate in the elections may be a strategic move on his part with the potential to give his party the upper hand in the future.
An Egyptian man wears a t-shirt with the portrait of former Egyptian UN nuclear watchdog chief and presidential hopeful Mohammed El-Baradei and the quote in Arabic 'My strength lies in my ideas' Since the electoral commission announced that 10 presidential hopefuls have been barred from participating in Egypt’s May elections, tensions have augmented in the country. Though it is unclear if the attacks were by government representatives or locals who are weary of the economic disruption caused by on-going protests, it is clear that Egypt’s presidential elections have done little to stabilize the country. Paula Mejia. Cairo's Candidate Shuffle. Over the last few weeks, the Egyptian presidential race has packed in a lifetime of political drama -- and then some.
First, in late March and early April, the Muslim Brotherhood broke its pledge not to run any candidates in the election and proceeded to register not one but two. Then, on April 6, Omar Suleiman, former President Hosni Mubarak's intelligence chief, announced that he was "a soldier that had never refused an order in his life" and would therefore reluctantly accept his supporters' supposed clamoring for him to enter the race. The dust from those bombshells hadn't even settled when Egypt's administrative court disqualified Suleiman; Khairat el-Shater, the Brotherhood's chief strategist and first-choice candidate; Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a hard-line Salafist; and seven other contenders from the race.
Half of all Foreign Affairs content is now published online only. To continue reading, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Register for free to continue reading. The Compromise Candidate. Big promises for change in Egypt from Mubarak era survivor With the announcement that 10 candidates have been barred the presidential elections in Egypt, more attention is bound to focus on those remaining in the race. One of these is Amr Moussa, a former head of the Arab League and Egyptian Foreign Minister, who launched his campaign for the presidency in April. Amr Moussa The competition to be president of Egypt now looks like a three-horse race between Amr Moussa, the ex-Muslim Brotherhood moderate Abdelmonim Abolfotouh, and the Brotherhood’s new candidate Mohamed Morsi, with Moussa seen by many observers as the frontrunner. Arguably, Moussa has the highest public profile, which could well play in his favor. Arguably, Moussa has the highest public profile, which could well play in his favor.
Born in the Cairo in 1936, Moussa entered Cairo University and graduated with a law degree in 1957. The first round of presidential elections are due to take place in May. Reflections on Egypt's “Odd Politics” When I left Egypt two weeks before the revolution that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak last year, Egyptians were not allowed to discuss three issues publicly: politics, religion, and sex. However, after spending two weeks in the post-revolutionary Egypt, I realized that these taboos are no more.
Apparently, a sense of unfettered freedom is inescapable, albeit in a chaotic pattern. Apart from sex, which become more politicized as in the case of Samira Ibrahim, one of seven female protesters who were allegedly subjected to a shameful “virginity test” by the military, the depressed Egyptians are significantly overwhelmed by the other two things: politics and religion. From the taxi driver who drove me from the airport to the mosque imam who ironically advocated repeatedly for apathy and political subservience, all seem now mired in everyday politics, however, with no substance. In many ways, politics today is the same old wine in the old bottles—not even new ones.
Egypt’s Unfinished Revolution Will Succeed - Mohamed A. El-Erian. Exit from comment view mode. Click to hide this space NEWPORT BEACH – A year ago, Egyptians of all ages and religions took to the streets and, in just 18 days of relatively peaceful protests, removed a regime that had ruled over them with an iron fist for 30 years. Empowered by an impressive yet leaderless movement – largely of young people – the country’s citizens overcame decades of fear to reclaim a voice in their future. While much has been achieved since those euphoric times, Egypt’s revolution today is, unfortunately, incomplete and imperfect – so much so that some now doubt whether it will fully succeed.
I believe that the doubters will be proven wrong. Over the last year, Egyptians have voted in their first free and fair parliamentary elections. For the first time in decades, millions of Egyptians now feel that they “own” their country, and that they are directly responsible for its well-being, and for that of future generations. Egypt’s IMF Lifeline | The Majalla. Is it enough to salvage a sinking economy? One of the most serious consequences of the 2011 revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa has been the impact of political instability on the regional economy.
Egypt has surely felt the fullest force of the blow and now requires a lifeline from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But any potential IMF loan is contingent upon domestic political consensus. Egyptians demonstrate on 25 January 2011, carrying banners to protest against the government, unemployment and about the economy One of the most serious consequences of the 2011 revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa has been the impact of political instability on the regional economy.
The uprisings that resulted in the ouster of the country’s former president, Hosni Mubarak, also resulted in a 3 percent drop in GDP growth. Compounding these issues, last June the interim government bowed to political pressure and rejected an IMF stand-by facility worth $3bn. Paula Mejia. Fayza Abul Naga and Cairo's Campaign Against NGOs. Ikhwanomics | The Majalla. The Muslim Brotherhood has a plan for Egypt’s economic recovery The Ikhwan’s economic manifesto to overhaul Egypt’s collapsing economy charts a pragmatic course between state-run economics on the left and crony capitalism on the right.
But given the scope of the economic challenges before it, arguably the biggest thing the world has to fear from an Islamist-run Egypt is that its leaders don’t have the answers, either. Salafists protest against IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde's visit to Tunisia. The Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt will have to contend with the hardline Salafist element in parliament. In early February, a senior official of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood warned that without a global effort to save Egypt’s troubled economy, the largely peaceful revolution that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak could return, specter-like, as a calamitous “hunger revolution.”
To make matters worse, a cheaper Egyptian pound is not likely to do the country’s exporters much good. Stephen Glain. Egypt's Judges in a Revolutionary Age. Egypt’s tumultuous uprising of 2011 was about many things, but among the most central was a demand by legions of political activists and large crowds of mobilized citizens that public authority in the country be reconstructed to operate in a clearly accountable manner, fully governed by the rule of law. Egyptian judges might therefore be expected to look upon the post-uprising environment as a time when they can finally realize a vision that they have been articulating for a generation in the face of an imperious and impervious presidency: A state ruled by law in which they will be insulated from political pressures and private interests, providing full autonomy to individual judges and to the judiciary as a body to issue decisions that will be respected and implemented by all the agencies of the Egyptian state. Eventually everybody might get what they want.
But in the short run, judges have hardly found themselves in a sacrosanct position in the wake of the Egyptian revolution. Egypt must look back before it can move forward by Khaled Elgindy. Egypt’s Conundrum. Egypt’s Elections: Why the Islamists Won. The Revolution will be Televised. Can Egypt Have a President Without a Constitution? Shadow of the Past. On the Campaign Trail. Egyptians Come Out in Droves for First Free Elections. Election Day Violations Widespread But Relatively Minor. A New Napoleon. Egypt's presidential election: a game of the least bad option | Magdi Abdelhadi.
For Egypt's Voters, Revolution Feels Light Years Away. Egyptian Presidential Election Preview. The Presidential Race: A Game of Egyptian Roulette. The Presidential Agenda. Here’s Hoping. Analyzing Egyptian Presidential Election Vote. Egypt Elects its President While in Crisis. Sabbahi To Seek Election Suspension, Cites Voting Irregularities. Why Did Abul-Fotouh Fail In The Presidential Elections? How Did Mubarak's Last PM Make It To Egypt's Second Round of Presidential Elections? Egyptian Presidential Elections, Day One: Turnout and Trends. "Who Will Win Egypt?" by Omar Ashour.
Trouble Brewing. Yesterday's Egypt. Egypt Elections: Between a Rock And a Hard Place. Shafiq Is a Mubarak-Era Holdover, But the Alternative May Be Worse. Few Options in Egypt. Dangers Ahead for Egypt. Egypt Rings in the Old. The Ballot Box vs. the Revolution. Many Egyptians Skip the Polls, Out of Hopelessness or Protest. Experts: Court Rulings Constitute a Blow to Civilian Forces. The five stages of electoral grief. Electoral Violations Mar Egypt's Presidential Runoff. Frustration in Egypt. My Vote | The Egyptian Elections. Egypt’s presidential run-off: legal limbo and the transition to nowhere. Egypt's New President and the Military: Who's in Command? A Tipping Point Ahead?
A vote of confidence in Egypt’s presidency. And The Winner Is... All Change in Cairo? Egypt’s morning after: against Dictatorship 2.0. Egypt Back from the Brink.