With the turnout for voting in the first round of Egypt's Presidential election at a disappointing forty-six per cent, it is all the more important now for all of Egypt's citizens to vote and make their voices heard in the second and final round. To do otherwise would be to hand the presidency to people who don't deserve it. More dramatically, it would be to dishonour the sacrifice and the memory of those who died as martyrs in last year's revolution. Democracy is a funny thing. It certainly isn't perfect. In fact, it is probably the least bad of all systems of choosing a government. In a democratic system, for example, the winner is often chosen by a minority of the electorate. Such could have been the case in the first round of Egypt's poll. Less than half the electorate voted. If any candidate had secured more than half of the votes cast he would have won outright and been elected by a quarter of the eligible voters. If each one of Egypt's voters fail to turn out this next time, the same will apply and Egypt will have a president chosen by a minority of its people. Given the choice of candidates in the final round, it is all the more alarming that either could be chosen in such a way. Most analysts suggest that the choice is a stark one: either a return to the old regime or the prospect of another government in which one party holds all the cards. Surely, the blood of Egypt's sons was not spoilt for such a choice. But democracy is not perfect. Staying away from the polls in protest is not the answer. Democracy means that sometimes we have to vote for the candidate we least dislike, rather than the one who truly represents our views. Failing to vote will hand on a plate the presidency to one of the candidates, because not enough people who oppose him are prepared to go out and vote. Whoever is chosen to be president, there is still a lot to be done and still a long way to go before Egypt's path to true democracy is secure. To be sure, the rights and opinions of all members of society must be upheld and respected. Democracy does not mean that the winner takes all and disregards the views of those who lost, no matter how much we see this version of democracy in operation in the West. In Egypt, it will certainly mean that the position of the Christian minority is protected and that all citizens enjoy equal rights under the law. It is very sad that some people are now espousing the view that only one of the two candidates can preserve their rights and their dignity. The man elected will be the president of Egypt, not of one part or one group of Egyptians. We have had enough of such presidents and don't want to see another. The new President, too, will need to preserve the rights and the dignity of women, giving all women equal rights under the law and offering them opportunities they have so far not yet enjoyed. Egypt, whether everyone likes it or not, is a religious country. Its people, regardless of their religion, have a great respect for faith. Egypt's future, though, should also have a place for people with no faith as well as for believers. People of all faiths and of none should come to enjoy the freedom, the dignity and the social justice that was demanded by the revolution. Indeed, the martyrs' blood was shed to secure this. In Tahrir Square, and throughout the country, we saw last year Egyptians, both men and women, standing side by side and falling dead to the ground at the hands of cruel and brutal men regardless of their religious belief. They died to put an end to tyranny and to build an Egypt that would belong to all of its people. It is worth saying also that the next President, elected freely by the people of Egypt, should not have to look over his shoulder to see what foreign governments want of him. Enough of that. Egypt has had centuries of rulers who did the bidding of foreign powers. It is time for foreigners to be put very gently in their place and told to mind their own business. Help will be welcome from anyone wishing to offer it, but there should be no strings attached. Any other kind of help is not help at all and it should be turned down. In all of this, then, the role of the Assembly chosen to write a new Constitution will be all the more important. Its role will not be to re-invent the wheel. Egypt is a predominantly Muslim country. Faith has an important place in the hearts of all Egyptians, so the Constitution needs to reflect this basic fact. Its essential task, though, will be to secure the role and the powers and the independence of the three branches of government. The executive power, in the person of the president, the legislative power, seen at work in the parliament, and the judicial power, at work in the courts, should be free of one another and allowed to operate freely, while at the same time working together for the good of the nation. The rule of law will be most important. It is essential in any democracy that all citizens are subject to the law and all are bound by it, without exception. It goes without saying that a police force that upholds the law and serves the people is necessary in the new Egypt. In the same way, the Armed Forces in a democracy are controlled by the government. They obey its instructions. Their role is to defend the nation and to carry out the wishes of the government which has been freely elected by the people. In a democracy, they have no other role to play. Such should be their role in the new Egypt. How important it is, then, for Egyptians to turn out in vast numbers to elect the new President of Egypt. The two candidates before them reflect the fact that most Egyptians stayed at home and didn't cast their votes last time, allowing less representative candidates to gain a majority of the votes. This, though, is how tyranny is allowed to thrive. It only needs good people to be silent for bad people to come to power. Voting in the second and final round of Egypt's presidential election is incumbent upon all. Any Egyptian who loves his country has a duty not only to defend it from attack from without, but also to defend it from within by queuing for hours in the hot sun to decide Egypt's future. It is time to vote. May God Bless Egypt. British Muslim writer, Idris Tawfiq, is a lecturer at Al-Azhar University . The author of eight books about Islam, he divides his time between Egypt and the UK as a speaker, writer and broadcaster. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com.
