The Muslim Brotherhood's significant loss in the recent Doctors Syndicate elections in Egypt has signalled a dwindling popularity of the group, which lost majority control for the first time in 28 years... The group's failure to garner the majority of votes was received by its rivals with a sense of relief, with some observers arguing that the results could inspire the civil trend, which won the elections, during the upcoming nationwide parliamentary elections. The official figures released by the Doctors Syndicate on December 15 confirmed significant gains by the Independent Movement in the body that has traditionally seen success by Brotherhood-affiliated professionals. The Independent Movement won 11 of the syndicate's board seats, while the Muslim Brotherhood's "Doctors for Egypt" won only one of the contested seats. Ahmad al-Barra, representing the central delta region, was the lone Brotherhood winner in the election that took place on December 13. The final results showed that the Brotherhood candidates standing in the elections had lost majority control for the first time in 28 years. The results showed that around 19,000 doctors cast their ballots out of 217,000 registered doctors. Over 18,000 ballots were valid. The candidates of the Independent Movement amassed 3,000 votes more than candidates from the Brotherhood, the group from which ousted president Mohammad Morsi hails. Senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammad Ali Bishr considered the level of the group's success "satisfactory under exceptional conditions and special hardship taking place in the whole country," according to the Brotherhood's website. He said the Muslim Brotherhood bloc's participation in the syndicate elections "has nothing to do with the coup," adding that it was considered a "vocational poll" that primarily serves members of the profession and "called by elected panels, not coup authorities, and run by elected members of the profession". "What we refuse to participate in are parliamentary elections directly linked to coup authorities, as political processes," he said, adding that Brotherhood-affiliated leaders of the syndicate were being detained. "The exceptional conditions of imprisonment, persecution and vilification of the Brotherhood after the coup did have an negative impact on the results," said Bishr. The liberal Free Egyptians Party released a statement congratulating the Independent Movement, calling it a "complement to the revolutions of January 25 and June 30" and saying it had "liberated" the syndicate from "the grip of religious extremists". State-owned Al-Ahram newspaper on December 15 celebrated the Independent Movement's "victory", saying the civil trend "ended a 30-year control of the Brotherhood on the Doctor's Syndicate". The Brotherhood is accused by its critics of misusing the syndicate over the past three decades. "December 13, 2013 will be an immortal day in the history of the Doctor's Syndicate when the doctors were enabled to evacuate the Hyksos [Greek invaders of Egypt during the 13th Dynasty] of the Muslim Brotherhood away from The House of Wisdom [syndicate's building in central Cairo] after they turned it to a house of political struggle and division and a place for receiving benefits for themselves," said Khalid Muntaser, a doctor himself and a prominent columnist. Professor of political science in Cairo University Imad Jad said that when the Muslim Brotherhood controlled the syndicate "employed it in favour of their international project through using the money given to the relief fund". The outcome of the Doctors Syndicate elections have been seen by some observers as an indication of the Muslim Brotherhood's dwindling popularity in the wake of June 30 protests that led to a military intervention and overthrow of Morsi. The dramatic loss might further serve as a barometer for the upcoming polls. As for Egypt's upcoming electoral events, including the constitutional referendum due on 14 and 15 January 2014, and the parliamentary and presidential elections later next year, one can easily expect a crushing and degrading loss for the exhausted and weak Islamist current. Such a significant loss will make the Brotherhood one more defeated power in Egypt's long history. Amid reports that the Brotherhood will boycott the next month's referendum, observers see that the Brotherhood would be the biggest loser because the decision of boycott will pave the way for isolating the group further and its allies from the political scene. Moreover, boycotting the referendum will give the new constitution a better chance to win a comfortable majority in the referendum. The Brotherhood prefers the last option because it gives them comfort in comparison to the annoying repercussions of passing the constitution despite their participation. This will bolster the idea of their declining popularity in the wake of the Doctors Syndicate elections. They will be in a critical situation as their "legitimacy" will be tested.
