During the 2012 presidential elections, voters had to choose between the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and the Hosni Mubarak era prime minister Ahmed Shafik. The choice was not easy. A large number of people, though not convinced that Morsi would be the better choice, felt obliged to vote for someone who had taken part in the 25 January Revolution that had led to the ouster of Mubarak. Such people were called “lemon squeezers” – people who did not want Morsi particularly, but chose him as their only option when he was standing against Shafik. The question in the forthcoming elections is whether there will be more lemon squeezers this time round when just two candidates are competing for the post of president, former defence minister Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and leftist activist Hamdeen Sabahi. Will the young revolutionaries choose one candidate just to avoid the other? Will some spoil their votes or boycott the whole electoral process? According to some observers, some young people are indeed intending to boycott the elections or spoil their votes. Nadine Badrawi, 24, a script writer, said that “I am boycotting the elections because there has been no sign of real reform in the government, the society or the people. Revolutions are always social, and to me this one has been a failure that has kept repeating itself.” Shaimaa Mazen, a secretary at a pharmaceutical company, said that she would be spoiling her ballot paper. “I will not vote for anyone but will intentionally spoil my ballot paper to show my disapproval of the candidates who are taking part in the elections. I am not convinced by Hamdeen Sabahi. I feel he is either an actor performing a role or somebody dying to become Egypt's president. As for Al-Sisi, I don't think that someone who has proved himself to be excellent in the army should be given the job of president.” It is impossible to know how many young men and women intend to vote for Sabahi. However, it seems that a number will vote for him in order not to vote for Al-Sisi, not wanting to see a military man as president. Some of these young people may be “lemon squeezers,” while others may genuinely support Sabahi's programme. Dina Samoil, a third-year student at Alexandria University, has changed her views on the elections. “I intended to boycott them, but I decided this would not do any good to anyone. If I want to be a good citizen, I have to vote and I have to choose. That's why I will choose Al-Sisi as I believe he is the man of this era. I believe Sabahi is just not as good as Al-Sisi. Egypt is a big country, and we need a leader. When we talk about leadership, we are talking about Al-Sisi,” she said. Merna Essam, 18, a secondary school student, said that “since I am 18 I have the right to vote in the elections. I intend to vote for Sabahi even though I don't like him. We need a civilian president. We don't want the SCAF [Supreme Council of the Armed Forces] again.” “I will vote for Sabahi. I voted for him in the first round in the first presidential elections, and I will vote for him again this time. The guy is sincere, honest, and straightforward, and at least he has a development plan,” Mustafa Mowafak, 23, an IT Web developer, told Al-Ahram Weekly. “Al-Sisi was my idol on 3 July last year when he forced the Brotherhood out of Egypt. I believed he was there to protect the values of the 25 January Revolution of bread, freedom and social justice. I believed him when he said the army wasn't after power. But then they systematically imprisoned and tortured revolutionaries across Egypt after the Rabaa sit-in was cleared.” “I don't see why Sabahi is unfit for such a position, given his well-thought-out development programme. He is an activist who has always fought for the poor,” Mowafak said. Marwa Mansour, who works in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, has not decided how she will cast her vote. “I am partially with the idea of boycotting the elections, but I haven't made my final decision yet. I am against military rule, but one of Al-Sisi's major merits is his stance against the Muslim Brotherhood. As for Sabahi, I think the post is too big for him: he should satisfy himself with being a minister or something of that sort.” “On the other hand, I think when listening to both of them that what they say is theoretical and not practical. They produce words that are not related to the upheaval we are living through,” she added. Mansour has largely lost interest in politics or in taking part in Egypt's political system. Although she took part in the demonstrations three years ago and in those last year against the Muslim Brotherhood, the events that followed made her reluctant to continue getting involved in politics. “I just don't think my vote will count,” she commented. Mustafa Al-Maghraby, an engineer, said that “boycotting is not a solution, since there will be a result even if lots of people boycott the elections. It is not a smart move to delegate your future to those who have decided to vote — you have to be responsible enough to decide.” “But a major problem I'm facing is that both candidates offer only vague plans — promises that can't be measured and relating to their past and previous actions. There should be clear plans to compare and choose from, which is why I'm hopeful that they will reveal more details about their plans before the voting begins.”
