Egypt Presidency, grand test of responsibility for Brotherhood

This is an election that has far too many candidates compared to polls that are held for presidency in many other states. People ranging from a simple shepherd with basic education to the well known ex-Arab league chief Amr Moussa, who also served as Foreign Minister for some time under deposed Hosni Mubarak, are said to be ready to run in the race.

But it is only when characters like ex-intelligence chief and vice President of the previous regime Omar Suleiman enter the race that it becomes all the more controversial. Add to that the recent stepping ahead of the country’s Muslim Brotherhood by putting forward its deputy head, Khairat al-Shater for Egypt’s Presidential election and you will see why the race is significant.

It was against all odds, at least from what was heard of the Brotherhood, that the group introduced a candidate for this election. The Islamic political party, which was banned in Mubarak’s Egypt for over three decades, had stated before that it was not after power and was not going to be present in the contest for the country’s highest post.

However, in what seems to be a shift of Brotherhood tactic, the group’s deputy head says he will run for President.
Before one even begins to think of the Brotherhood move in good or bad terms, note should be made of the country’s current state of affairs and the direction in which things seem to be headed in Egypt today.

After the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February last year, power was handed to Egypt’s military. A body that was trusted, to a great extent, by the nation. The junta had indicated it had no intention of remaining in control and would hand over power to a civilian government once there was one in place. Such positions had raised hopes for Egyptians to finally have an administration that is chosen by themselves, a right they had long been deprived of, especially under the more than three decades of Mubarak rule.

But the fact of the matter is that events unfolding in Egypt after the junta took power had not been totally in line with the basic aims of the Egyptian revolution. Among the aims, of course, has been for the ousted President and his aides to stand trial for the crimes, people say, they have committed during their time at the helm. Egypt’s military rulers are argued not to have shown the best of their leadership as far these trials are concerned.

Cracking down on post Mubarak-era protests in Cairo’s Tahrir (liberation) square attended by people who said their revolution ‘has not ended’ is also listed by some as one of the weak points in the junta’s leadership. People basically demanded a speedier transition of power to a civilian government and were not pleased with the pace of ‘reforms’ the military argued it was implementing.

Also, prior to the country’s Presidential race, the re-emergence of a man, Omar Suleiman, who many say was largely behind the violence against people in the course of the revolution and during Mubrak’s rule, as a candidate has angered people raising fears that elements affiliated to the former regime may have a chance to return to power, thus taking a revenge on people for the events of last year. Some have even mockingly argued that perhaps if he was not ‘imprisoned’, Mubarak himself would also consider running in the election!

Only a few days ago there was a war of words over the possibility of vote rigging between Egypt’s military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and the Muslim Brotherhood. The party’s recent move of introducing a Presidential candidate also seems to be a reminder that it can change the course of things anytime it deems necessary. Given the influence the party has built up among some Egyptians due to its resistance against Mubarak during the years that it was banned, which has also led it to win a great number of seats in the parliamentary elections, it is likely that a candidate by the Brotherhood will have a good chance in becoming President.

In such conditions and out of the sense of responsibility, Muslim Brotherhood has introduced al-Shater as its candidate for President to come to the stage to, if not win this race, turn the attention of voters to alternative Presidential choices in an atmosphere which does not imply the junta will do anything against the nomination of people such as Suleiman.

Also, the status quo in Egypt’s politics does, by itself, to a great extent explain a need for a Brotherhood change of heart which has obviously felt the necessity to prevent any possible damage from being done. After all, no one wants to take the risk of seeing the previous regime or any of its elements back in power again.

However clearly to the dejection of the US and Israel, it is predictable, some argue, that a political party as strongly established as the Brotherhood will remain in Egypt’s political scene in the many years to come as the country proceeds along its democratization path.