Egyptian army is back in power, but what a mess

Egypt’s army has thrown the ballot box out of the window and the country is now back to where it was two years ago. The fact that the old power holders are back to where they wanted to be does not bode well for the country however. 

This is not to say that ousted President Mohamed Morsi failed to live up to the promises that he had made two years ago to all the groups that ousted Hosni Mubarak from three decade authoritarian rule. Nobody ever said democracy would be a walk in the park. And Morsi has learned quickly that democracy is much more than coming first in the ballot box. Coming in first doesn’t justify domination in all aspects of governance, especially if the country is drafting its first constitution for a post-Mubarak Egypt.

It goes without saying that a constitution has to reflect the ideals and desire of all the people in the country, and coming in first in the ballot box does not and should not mean that you have an absolute mandate to draft the law of the land the way one group wants.

Morsi may be right to say that the opposition was foot dragging, to the point of not being willing to participate. But he and the Muslim Brotherhood made a mistake of proceeding without them. Drafting a charter is not the same as running a Cabinet. 

For a brief moment, there was joy on the street among the anti-government forces. They got what they wanted, which was the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood from power.  

But if one was to look at how the event unfolded and who has popped into the spotlight alongside the army, there are causes of concern.  

It is not comforting to see Islamists hardliners carry out bitter clashes with the Muslim Brotherhood over interpretation of Islamic law in the constitution. But one can’t help but to wonder how long this marriage of convenience can last. Politics make for strange bedfellows, as they say.

Other disturbing developments include the shutting down of five TV stations, probably because they were covering the protests of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood. Some journalists were arrested. Liberal leader Mohamed El Baradei may want to comfort himself and his supporters by declaring that the 2011 “Arab Spring” revulsion has been relaunched. But reality on the ground speaks for itself. The old power is back to where they wanted to be.  

By taking this short cut, the military and supporters of the coup may inadvertently give the Muslim Brotherhood a new leash of life. The world can no longer dismiss the Muslim Brotherhood as compromising Islamists. The Muslim Brotherhood is now a defender of constitutional democracy.  

The numbers are with the Muslim Brotherhood and the party could very well return to power again if there is another election. What then? Another coup? Egypt could very well be the laughing stock of the world should the current regime push for an election but refuses the participation of the country’s largest religious movement/political party.  

To avoid bloodshed and possible civil war, it has to be crystal clear that the Muslim Brotherhood will still have a place in the new political order. The army could lock them up and throw away the key, or even hang them like they used to do back in the 1960s. But instead of getting rid of the elements that were questioning the legitimacy of the state at the time, they ended up creating feisty Muslim radical groups and terrorists that continue to thrive today.