CAIRO: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood's supreme leader Mohamed Badie said on Saturday the election run-off is a “true test” for Egypt, and the testifying to the truth will mean success. Badie caste his vote Saturday morning in the second round of the presidential elections in the Nile Delta region of Beni Sueif, for the group's candidate Mohamed Morsi, who is running against old regime loyalist Ahmed Shafiq. Badie showed off his inked finger at the voting station, saying this is the price “paid by our martyrs.” Activists say the two candidates, Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi, and ousted and jailed President Hosni Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, offer little hope to a revolution that has seen change stifled by the military power that took control of the country on February 11, 2011. Now, a year and a half on, two elections into the transitional process, and a court ruling has ostensibly nullified all the gains of the uprising, allowing former Mubarak officials to return to the political arena. The court's rulings on Thursday came as a shock to the country. While many had expected the court to allow Shafiq, Mubarak's Prime Minister during the 18 days of protests in January and February 2011, the dissolving of parliament was unexpected. And shocking to many who had participated in the democratic process in November and December to elect the new parliament, which had been in power less than 6 months. The court ruled that the “Azl”, or political isolation, law was unconstitutional much to the anger of hundreds of activists who had stationed themselves at the court early on Thursday chanting “void, void” in calling for the law, passed by parliament in April, to be implemented and a new presidential election be held. The ruling means former President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, can run in Saturday and Sunday's presidential run-off against Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi. Acting as the country's executive power, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) amended the parliamentary elections law several times. At issue is the last amendment, which reversed an earlier stipulation that parties could not compete for single-winner seats in the elections that began last fall. Now with parliament uncertain and an election that has seen the former National Democratic Party (NDP) members come out from hiding to voice their open support for Shafiq, activists like Munir are frustrated, but the anger is not only with the protesters in Tahrir. “I spoke to a lot of people who had not liked us in Tahrir the past few months and they are now really supportive, because I think it will be the only chance we have to save Egypt and they know this,” activist Munir told Bikyamasr.com. Many leading political figures in the country have called Thursday's moves a “military coup.” Former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh said on Thursday evening the moves by the military junta were an obvious military coup. Leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei, who for months has called the entire election process without a constitution in place was a sham. On Thursday, after the court threw the future of Egypt into uncertainty, ElBaradei was quick to reiterate the point, while also warning against dictatorship, alluding to a potential Shafiq president. “Electing president without constitution or parliament means pres has powers unreached by most notorious dictatorships,” he said in response to the court verdict. And with an election to vote for the country's first post-revolution president, to give their oath of office to the military, on Saturday and Sunday, uncertainty seems to reign over Egypt at the present moment. ** Joseph Mayton contributed to this report.
