Egypt's presidential elections were held between 26 and 28 May, exactly one year ago. Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, who had served as defence minister, won by a landslide, winning 96 per cent of the votes cast. Al-Sisi's only rival, leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, scraped just four per cent. Al-Sisi was sworn in as president of Egypt on 8 June, 2014. During an American-style celebration held in the garden of Cairo's Al-Kobba Palace, Al-Sisi delivered an inaugural speech in which he promised to restore stability after three years of political upheaval and economic meltdown, secure independence from the West, achieve better living conditions for poor Egyptians and implement the three-part political roadmap adopted after the ouster of Mohamed Morsi. As the first anniversary of Al-Sisi's presidency approaches a heated debate has erupted in political and economic circles. Opposition parties are busy compiling their own reports assessing his first year in office. State-owned and private newspapers are planning special supplements, and television channels clearing their broadcast schedules for endless talk shows assessing what went right and what wrong in the past year. Diaa Rashwan, director of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS), says the centre's researchers and political analysts are at work compiling reports on Al-Sisi's successes and failures. “It is clearly in the public interest that a vigorous national debate on the performance of Al-Sisi takes place,” argues Rashwan. Professor of political science and economics and former independent MP Gamal Zahran told Al-Ahram Weekly that “in democratic societies, the media, political institutions and ordinary citizens have the right to conduct periodic critical reviews of their leaders.” Zahran, who has published books about the regimes of both Anwar Al-Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, urged Al-Sisi to join the public debate, respond to critics and answer questions from the media. Sadat and Mubarak both began their rule by raising democratic slogans, vowing to stay in office for no more than two terms, respect freedom of speech, reform the economy, and turn Egypt into “a state of institutions”, says Zahran. “Yet they soon turned into autocrats. Sadat's rule ended with his assassination at a military parade in October, 1981 after he had arrested more than 1,000 political opponents in a single month. Mubarak, who began as a modest, decent and democratic leader, quickly developed a taste for rigging parliamentary elections, trading national sovereignty for dependency on America, and was even preparing his son as successor before he was forced to leave office amid unprecedented demonstrations against his rule.” Just like Sadat and Mubarak, says Zahran, “Al-Sisi has begun to show autocratic tendencies.” “I know that it is too early to judge but the initial symptoms are worrying. The repeated delay in holding parliamentary elections, his indifference to civilian political parties and lack of vision of the future of the country's politics and democracy: Al-Sisi seems to want neither a strong parliament nor a forceful opposition.” Al-Ahram analyst Osama Al-Ghazali Harb takes issue with accusations Al-Sisi lacks political vision. “When he was campaigning for the presidency Al-Sisi was clear he would devote his first two years in office to helping Egypt back on its feet, in economic terms and by rebuilding state institutions. When, as opposition leaders, we met him last December he expressed surprise at accusations he lacked vision,” said Harb. “He said to us, ‘I asked people to give me two years in which to secure stability and improve the economy. It's not my fault that some people now demand I adopt a different agenda'.” Nor does Harb believe Al-Sisi is responsible for the indefinite delay of parliamentary elections. “Drafting a law combining a mix of two electoral systems is a difficult process that requires a lot of time. There is zero enthusiasm among the public for elections. The most important thing for most Egyptians right now is that the country move towards better living conditions, higher salaries, lower inflation and no more power cuts.” In a speech before the 2015 World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in Jordan last week Al-Sisi said again that he wants parliamentary elections held as soon as possible. Harb says he had always expected “parliamentary elections to be delayed for at least two years”. “That allows time to focus on improving the economy. The delay should also be seen as an opportunity by political parties to promote themselves and build strong grassroots support after years of marginalisation.” Zahran detects troubling echoes from the past in Harb's argument. “Sadat and Mubarak did the same,” he warns, “exploiting fears about the economy to grab absolute powers.” Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat, chairman of the Reform and Development Party, is skeptical about Al-Sisi's “claims he wants to rebuild state institutions”. “In reality it applies only to the security apparatus. What about parliament? What about ridding the presidency of old guard bureaucrats? Al-Sisi and Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb's government have shown no interest in political reform, no respect for the constitution, no desire to foster a vibrant civil life.” Al-Sadat said that “Egypt is now caught in a political and legislative vacuum. Perhaps Al-Sisi should complete his first year in office by inviting the people to vote in a referendum on whether or not the constitution should be implemented, whether or not a parliament be created or whether the president, like Sadat and Mubarak, should be the only powerful figure in the country.” How would such a proposal play in the street? Ashraf, the owner of a barber's shop in downtown Cairo, says Al-Sadat is the chairman of one of many cartoon parties that have zero credibility. “The only good thing about these people is that they entertain us from time to time,” he says, adding that “the only thing Egyptians care about is the economy.” Sawsan Mustafa Ali, a university student, insists “the achievements of President Al-Sisi after one year in office speak for themselves.” “He has met with success after success on every level,” claims Ali. “He has scored successes on the international stage, attracted investments during the Sharm El-Sheikh conference, instigated major economic development projects and is winning the war on terror.” Hassan Abu Taleb, an Ahram analyst on Arab affairs, believes Al-Sisi's first year has been characterised by a mix of failures and successes, with the latter far outnumbering the former. “His greatest achievement has been in terms of Egypt's foreign relations,” argues Abu Taleb. “He managed to neutralise America's influence in Egypt by forging close ties with rich Arab Gulf countries and opening up to military cooperation with powers like Russia, China and France.” “Al-Sisi can sit down with as many American officials and congressmen as he likes and speak about his interest in maintaining strategic relations with the United States but at the end of the day he will do everything in his power to ensure Egypt is not held hostage by a single world power.”
