Democracy in Egypt: Is it Really a Government by the People, for the People?

          This week in class, we discussed the recent presidential elections in Egypt. The pool of candidates was a wide one, consisting of twelve nominees ranging from more conservative Islamist ideas to more liberal ideas. Recently, the pool of nominees has been narrowed to two:

• Former Mubarak Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq
• Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed Morsy

Yet though these two were the ones that garnered the most votes, don't begin to think that they have incredibly strong support, as neither of the two garnered even a quarter of the vote and both are criticized for a variety of reasons.

          First lets take a look at Shafiq. As stated earlier, Shafiq was the Prime Minister under Mubarak's regime and is now seen as a defender of it, making him a somewhat unfavorable candidate to some people. However, the biggest thing associated with Shafiq is that people look at him as a military strongman, or someone that has great power and support from the military, making people cautious of what may happen if he were to be elected. He holds a strong and unrelenting stance on the need for stability as well, something that has led him to become indirectly connected to the bloody attack on February 2nd, 2011 in Tahrir, again making him unpopular. Some revolutionaries even go as far as to say he is a "Darth Vader," character for all his stances on these issues.

          Then there is Mohammed Morsy. Many feel that he is "Uncharismatic, unimaginative, unappealing, and often unintelligible," (Iskandar). Morsy's organization/ party, the Muslim Brotherhood, isn't an attractive option to most Egyptians either, appearing "Opportunistic and disingenuous," by their use of religious rhetoric to eliminate their opposition (Iskandar). In addition to this, their lack of acknowledgement of the killing of protesters has made many question the party's trustworthiness. Also, many Egyptians are unclear about their platform, as they have never stated if the would or wouldn't instate sharia law. Finally, the party already has control of the parliament, and a win in the presidential election would give it full control of the writing of Egypt's constitution.

          With all these uncertainty and anxiety over these candidates, Egyptians are worried over what they may do, or are even able to do. Some have even begun to take steps to get a recount, a revote, and even a cancellation of the election all together. So knowing all this, can the Egyptian government become a democratic government by the people, for the people? And if it is, will possible fears of outside countries (like the United States) of the government chosen cause these countries to intervene?