CAIRO: Egypt's presidential campaign is over. The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi has unofficially declared victory in the first post-uprising election in the country. But the question on many minds is: does it really matter? After a turbulent five days, Egypt woke on Monday morning to a new president, but analysts fear the victory is more Pyrrhic than anything. “He will be nothing but a symbol,” wrote one activist on Twitter, adding, “we know who runs this country.” They were, of course, referring to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which took over complete control of the country on February 11, 2011, when former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down as a result of 18 days of protests. The military had promised to remain in power for only 6 months at the time, and would hand over power of the country to a civilian, elected government at that time. Now, 17 months on from the revolution, many activists say the “revolution is gone” and the military junta has “constitutionalized” a coup. “What people had forgotten about the SCAF was that it was a body that existed before February 2011, established by statute that placed the president of the republic at its head,” began Issandr el-Amrani, a blogger and journalist on Arabist.net. “Without this declaration, President Shafiq or Morsi would have headed the SCAF upon taking office (unless there was some change in the legislation on the SCAF's formation I was unware of over the past year) In freezing the SCAF's current membership in place and giving it such sweeping powers, the provisions really do constitutionalize a military coup,” he wrote. That constitutional declaration, issued on Sunday, gives the military sweeping power, ostensibly giving it authority over all aspects of Egyptian life, including the presidency. The new president will be sworn in by the Supreme Constitutional Court instead of the lower house of the parliament. The tension and frustration began last Thursday, when the Supreme Constitutional Court appears to have dissolved parliament and annulled the political isolation law, granting former regime loyalists a chance to return to public life and politics. “I voted, yes, but I am so disappointed,” one middle-aged man told Bikyamasr.com on Sunday. His sentiments were echoed by other voters, who felt the election gave little options to the new Egypt. “I wanted someone else, but this is what we have to work with,” he added. Activists are currently calling for a “cleansing of the judiciary system” after the high court ruled that Shafiq would remain in the race, saying the “Azl” law, or political isolation, that barred former regime leaders from participating in politics would be revoked. The fear of Islamists gaining power was again a hot topic in the country, especially among the minority Christian population. In the first round, numerous Christian organizations put their support for Shafiq, citing worries that a Brotherhood victory would threaten the future of the minority religious group. “We are definitely worried about the Christian future in the country and that is why we want security and Shafiq is to give that to us,” said Farid, a Christian business owner in Cairo, referring to Shafiq's continuous statements saying he would give the country security within “24 hours of being elected.” Goodbye Revolution For many, Thursday marked the end of the revolution process. Many activists wrote on social networking sites, “Goodbye revolution,” showing their disdain for the military, who had only promised to remain in power for 6 months before elections would take place. 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. “I thought we were on the right path, but I guess we need more time and more effort to put pressure on the powers,” said one man in Tahrir, adding that he felt “bad for speaking out against the protesters in recent months. “For me, I was upset because I thought the country was heading in the right direction, but now I see they were right and they knew pressure was needed,” the man added. 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. 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 added. 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.
