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Last Day of Egyptian Presidential Runoff Between Ex-Mubarak PM and Muslim Brotherhood Candidate

Last Day of Egyptian Presidential Runoff Between Ex Mubarak PM and Muslim Brotherhood Candidate

An Egyptian casts his vote in front of soldiers at a polling station in Zagazig, 63 miles northeast of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, June 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians voted for a second day Sunday in a presidential runoff pitting Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister against a conservative Islamist, a contest overshadowed by questions of whether the ruling military will transfer power to civilian authority by July 1 as promised.

Going head-to-head in the runoff are Ahmed Shafiq, a longtime friend and admirer of Mubarak, and Mohammed Morsi, the candidate of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood.

The winner will be officially announced on Thursday, but the result could be known by as early as Monday morning, based on not entirely reliable exit polls conducted by campaign workers or samples of votes counted across the nation.

The two-day balloting, which ends Sunday evening, followed a week of political drama in which the military slapped de facto martial law on the country and judges appointed by Mubarak before his ouster dissolved the freely elected, Islamist-dominated parliament.

The generals who took over from Mubarak 16 months ago are expected this week to spell out the powers of the new president and appoint a 100-member panel to draft a new constitution, moves that will further tighten the military’s grip on the nation.

The race between Shafiq and Morsi has deeply divided the country, 16 months after a stunning uprising by millions forced the authoritarian Mubarak to step down after 29 years in office.

“I am bitter and I am filled with regret that I have to choose between two people I hate. I have to pick a bad candidate only to avoid the worse of the two,” lamented a silver-haired pensioner in Cairo’s crowded Bab el-Shariyah district. He refused to give his name, fearing retribution for speaking so openly.

“Nothing is going to be resolved and Egypt will not see stability,” he added.

A similarly pessimistic note was echoed by another voter, accountant Yasser Gad, 45. “The country is heading to a disaster. It will keep boiling until it explodes. No one in the country wants the former regime to rule us again.”

Few voters displayed an air of celebration visible in previous post-Mubarak elections. The prevailing mood was one of deep anxiety over the future – tinged with bitterness that their “revolution” had stalled, fears that no matter who wins, street protests will erupt again, or deep suspicion that the political system was being manipulated. Moreover, there was a sense of voting fatigue.

Egyptians have gone to the polls multiple times since Mubarak’s fall on Feb. 11, 2011 – a referendum early last year, then three months of multi-round parliamentary elections that began in November, and the first round of presidential elections last month.

“It’s a farce. I crossed out the names of the two candidates on my ballot paper and wrote `the revolution continues’,” said architect Ahmed Saad el-Deen, in Cairo’s Sayedah Zeinab district, a middle-class area that is home to the shrine of a revered Muslim saint.

“I can’t vote for the one who killed my brother or the second one who danced on his dead body,” he said, alluding to Shafiq‘s alleged role in the killing of protesters during last year’s uprising and claims by revolutionaries that Morsi’s Brotherhood rode the uprising to realize its own political goals.

Others said they were voting against a candidate as much as for one. Anti-Shafiq voters said they wanted to stop a figure they fear will perpetuate Mubarak’s regime; anti-Morsi voters feared he would hand the country over to Brotherhood domination to turn it into an Islamic state. With the fear of a new authoritarianism, some said they picked the candidate they believed would be easiest to eventually force out of power.

Asmaa Fadil, a young woman who wears the Muslim veil, said she lost confidence in the political process, particularly after the dissolution of parliament.

“I don’t trust the whole thing. I feel everything is planned in advance and what we are doing now is just part of the plan,” she said as she waited in line to vote in Sayedah Zeinab.

The election is supposed to be the last stop in a turbulent transition overseen by the military generals. But even if they nominally hand over some powers to the winner, they will still hold the upper hand over the next president.

The generals are likely to issue an interim constitution defining the president’s authority while they retain their hold on legislative powers, and they will likely appoint a panel to write the permanent constitution.

Comments (19)

  • tckid17
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 12:58pm

    This reminds me of the 2008 presidential election when the popular choice should be “none of the above”.

    Report Post »  
    • Look4DBigPicture
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 2:07pm

      Amen!

      This truly is a choice between two evils. I feel sorry for the Egyptians who thought they were protesting for freedom.

      Let this be a lesson to all you unions, socialists, communists, and anarchists participating in OWS. You do not want to overthrow our leaders by force. You just might succeed and end up with something far worse than your most terrifying nightmare.

      God Bless America!

      Report Post »  
    • vox_populi
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:04pm

      “Let this be a lesson to all you unions, socialists, communists, and anarchists participating in OWS. You do not want to overthrow our leaders by force. You just might succeed and end up with something far worse than your most terrifying nightmare.”

      Oh sure, but the same fear plagued the American Revolution. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

      Report Post » vox_populi  
  • mike_trivisonno
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 12:52pm

    They wanted less American meddling into their affairs and we are delivering. As soon as the Americans pull out, the vacuum will be filled with those nice Russians and Chinese…and the peaceful Muslim Brotherhood.

    America can get what we need to get and get who we need to get far more cheaply if we do not have to worry too much about the average citizenry…who hates us anyway. Robots and drones will be our representatives.

    Report Post » mike_trivisonno  
  • NOBALONEY
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:26am

    The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) took control of the Legislative and budget, since the ruling of the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled their Parliamantary elections unconstitutional as well as the representation proportions of the Parliament.
    If Morsi, the Muslin Brotherhood should win. He will have no power, and will be subject to to the Court and Military. When will there be new Parliamentary election? What’s to stop the Court from invalidating this election, or the next Parliamentary election?
    The U. S. State Department called this “troubling” after Secretary Clinton stated we’re “not going back”. President Obama lost the Saudi’s with the way Murbarak was treated, and the Muslin Brotherhood isn’t going to take this lying down. The State Department, and Obama adminisration have yielded to the Chinese and Russians on all foreign affairs matters. North Korea, and Iran continue with their nuclear and missles developments. Making the P5+1, IAEA, and the U N’s non-proliferation treaty totallly useless as its been. We told the Philliphines to deal with China with the dispute over an island. Russia is running the operation in Syria. Both are exercising their regional and sphere of influence and power. While this week, Secretary of Defence Panetta announced withdrawing from negotiations with Pakistan over the NATO suppy routes, and two days later says we have a plan to suppy our troops in Afghanistan, but at a cost of 100 million dollars a mont

    Report Post » NOBALONEY  
  • abbygirl1994
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:22am

    This reminds me of the NBP outside voting places.. Does it look like this soldier is reading this mans vote? Standing there with a gun, this is so wrong! I am so thankful God allowed me to be born in the USA!

    Report Post » abbygirl1994  
  • TWO BITS
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:21am

    Ordinary Egyptians are caught between a rock and a hard place. The civil unrest and violence of the Arab Spring resulted in costly economic damages as well as undermined personal security.
    Both the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s military are being manipulated by outside forces. Iran forments continued upheaval, while U.S. officials try to subdue Islamists’ influence long enough to install a malleable successor to Mubarak.

    Report Post » TWO BITS  
    • db321
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:46am

      Yea, but let’s not forget how COOL and HIP Egyptions were when they let the Muslim Brotherhood in doing the protest last year. The Liberal Media in the US paised them for being so Democratic and I believe Chris Mathews even got a trill up his leg.

      Just one year ago Egypts was the talk of the World. Tomorrow, Egypt will rule the World with Sharia Law and the America people will cheer.

      Not me! I’ll be lable a racist against Mulims, Blacks and Hispanics and will be exicuted for notnot surendering my faith in God. On the brightside, look at the front row seat I’ll have from the balcony of Heaven as God removes Lawlessness from the earth.

      Report Post » db321  
  • lukerw
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:21am

    This is the story of… a people of an Entire Nation… held Captive… by a Military & Government… as if Slaves in Pharaoh’s Egypt. So, now the Egyptians… are just like Hebrews (Hyksos) of old.

    Report Post » lukerw  
    • lukerw
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:09am

      Vote for… Mes-S… or Moses… or someone with a name like that… to set you free!

      Report Post » lukerw  
  • Magyar
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:17am

    No matter who steals this election, there will be NO peace treaty with Israel setting up the chaos that is coming!

    …And you just know that OWEbama is on the side of all MUSLIMS! If he’s re-elected—we are ALL doomed!

    Report Post »  
  • Madison2012
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:07am

    Democracies ALWAYS FAIL. Only a REPUBLIC with checks & balances within the government structure has been proven to work for non-corrupt people.

    Report Post » Madison2012  
    • lukerw
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:24am

      Surprise: How are those Checks & Balances working for you?

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • Snafu777
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:47pm

      Those checks and balances work great when they’re upheld. It took them a century just to get to here. Sadly most of them have been bypassed or disabled in the last century by those who found that socialism wouldn’t win in an outright war. The dissolution of America has been achieved thus far by distancing us from our history and culture, and then stripping us of the protections we’d forgotten the purpose thereof.

      Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 8:35am

    So you have presented them in the end a choice of evils Mr Obama; we all know that unless the Muslim Brotherhood comes out as the clear and decisive winner, Obama will cry foul and may even use military force to ensure the Brotherhoods return to power. One radical supporting other radicals to set the world aflame.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • soybomb315
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 8:51am

      Egyptians should just accept the lesser of two evils – we are told to do the same thing here. Nothing wrong with that, right?

      Report Post » soybomb315  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 12:11pm

      @SoyBomb: often the lesser of two evils is what we have to deal with. Though evil is still evil, the lesser of them can be contained and dealt with easier in the end as long as the PEOPLE choose to make the effort; the people of Egypt are learning that, we are relearning it.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • soybomb315
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 7:09pm

      Nice try. The time for action would have been BEFORE you are stuck with two evils. Once stuck with two evils, you are screwed either way. Although in America we generally don’t have run-off elections – so at least we have more than two evils to choose from in November

      Report Post » soybomb315  
  • dissentnow
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 8:34am

    I think we all know who the Obama administration will be rooting for…..

    Report Post »  

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