Egypt, one of mankind’s oldest nations began a new journey to stability, democracy and economic revival last week when it elected a former Army General, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, as its new president in a three-day election that climaxed the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi.
Morsi, an ally of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, was ousted from power in a military-backed popular revolt in July 2013, and is now standing trial for ordering the killing of protesters.
Although, the election witnessed low turn-out of voters and allegation that it was tailored to favour the eventual winner, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, it will give Egypt another chance to start afresh.To a large extent, Morsi’s excesses led to his ouster. Barely a year in power, Morsi began to alienate the broad political coalition that enabled his emergence through policies and actions that excluded other actors on the Egyptian political scene. Morsi passed an unpopular decree that gave him immunity from prosecution in the case of any wrong-doing while actively promoting corruption that favours the Brotherhood. Second, the ousted president looked on while followers of the Brotherhood planned to foist an Islamic state on the Egyptian people.
These and other acts of the Morsi government created much resentment among the Egyptian people who were forced again unto the streets in protest reminiscent of the one that heralded the deposition of Mubarak, Morsi’s predecessor. Meanwhile, the political crisis had taken its toll on the Egyptian economy. Tourism and industry, the mainstay of the country’s economy,were bullish,resulting to high unemployment, capital flight and a huge lull in business. Also, instability now included terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula, which directly challenged the security and stability of the state as remnants of the Muslim Brotherhood unleashed violence on the country.
Thus, it was in this atmosphere of insecurity that a new political transition programme was embarked upon, culminating in the presidential election of May 26- 28, 2014. Despite the shortcoming of the polls, Sisi emerged victorious by a landslide, defeating his opponent, veteran politician, HamdeenSabahy, who has accepted defeat.
The election would be followed in a few weeks from now by new parliamentary elections to convene a new parliament for the country after the disbandment of the Morsi parliament. Egyptians, both within and outside the country, are enthusiastic about the new president as he is seen as a chance for the country to chart a new course and leave behind all the baggage imposed on the country by the short-lived and ill-fated Morsi era.
For the new President Al-Sisi, there are huge challenges ahead. The first and most important is to restore law and order to the country. The second is to repair, rehabilitate the battered and neglected economy and attract once again, investors, tourists and give confidence to the indigenous business and industrial classes. Third, is to fight terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula and halt extremism in the country’s political life.
There is high expectation that Al-Sisi will do well to re-position Egypt to its former pride of place. The president can count on the support and goodwill of the people, the establishment as well as top regional players like Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. Internationally, US, Russia and the European Union will lend a helping hand to enable Egypt return to its place on the international arena.
We also expect the new Egyptian leader to do something to repair the poor relationship between the Egyptian authorities and the media, both within and internationally, by looking into the many cases of detained journalists in Egyptian prisons.