Egypt elections: Muslim Brotherhood in a fight for survival
The Muslim Brotherhood has a lot to lose if the group's candidate fails to win Egypt's presidential elections runoff. Turnout appears light on the second day of voting.
Cairo
The Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt is fighting for political聽survival against the country's military rulers, resisting the聽military's attempts to dissolve the parliament and urging voters to聽back the Brotherhood's man for president on this second day of voting.
Relatively few Egyptians appear to be turning out to cast ballots as聽the Brotherhood鈥檚 presidential candidate, Mohamed Morsi, faces former聽military man Ahmed Shafiq in a race that has high stakes for the聽Brotherhood. If Mr. Shafiq wins, many in the once-banned organization聽fear a return to the days of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, when聽Brotherhood members were often arrested in their homes and detained聽for years.
The Brotherhood鈥檚 Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) said in a statement聽Saturday evening that the military has no right to order the聽dissolution of parliament, and such a decision can only come through a聽national referendum. The statement is a challenge to the Supreme聽Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the military generals ruling聽Egypt, who said a Thursday court ruling means the parliament is null.聽The generals have sent soldiers to the assembly building who are聽refusing to allow members of parliament to enter.
鈥淭he constant threat to dissolve a parliament elected by the will of聽30 million Egyptians confirms the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces鈥櫬燿esire for a total power grab against the popular will,鈥� said the FJP聽in a statement that called the ruling a 鈥渂latant attack on the great聽Egyptian revolution.鈥�
The SCAF鈥檚 decision is based on a ruling by Egypt鈥檚 Supreme聽Constitutional Court Thursday that the law governing the parliamentary聽elections, which ended in January, erred when it allowed parties to聽contest the seats reserved for independents.
Coming after months of threats of parliament dissolution by the聽SCAF-appointed government to the Brotherhood,聽and from a court full of Mubarak-appointed justices, the ruling is聽seen by many in Egypt as politicized. It has increased the power of聽the military, and hurt the Brotherhood, whose party held about half聽the seats in parliament and had used that position to secure a solid聽hold on a committee elected to write Egypt鈥檚 new constitution. The聽military has now indicated it will appoint a new constitutional聽committee.
With both of these footholds gone, the Brotherhood is hoping for an聽electoral victory by Dr. Morsi.聽
Brotherhood could face court freeze
Underlining their sense of urgency is a court case scheduled for聽Tuesday that seeks to freeze the Brotherhood鈥檚 activities, because it聽is not registered under the law as nongovernmental organizations in聽Egypt are required to do. Omar Ashour, a visiting fellow at the聽Brookings Doha Center who is currently in Egypt, says Brotherhood聽members are feeling boxed in and are fearful of a future under Shafiq.
鈥淏asically [SCAF] is taking away every single avenue for which the聽Brotherhood can become influential in the political process,鈥� he says,
pointing to parliament, the coming court case, and a possible聽presidential election defeat. 鈥淭hey are quite afraid.鈥�
The Brotherhood is an 84-year-old organization that seeks a greater聽role for Islam in society. For decades it has proselytized, operated social services,聽and encouraged its members to lead more godly lives.聽
The organization was banned under former president Gamal Abdel Nasser,聽who executed leaders and jailed many members. Under Mubarak, the聽organization was banned but tolerated, and its members competed in聽elections as independents though they were also sometimes rounded up聽and imprisoned. The organization formed a political wing, the FJP,聽after Mubarak's ouster last year.
鈥淚 think the Brotherhood had to do this, because there are too many聽legal loopholes in the decision鈥� to dissolve the parliament, says Dr.聽Ashour. 鈥淭he judicial branch cannot dismantle the legislative branch聽unless you have a referendum. This is what happened in the 1987聽parliament when it was dissolved [in 1990]. Even under the聽dictatorship of Mubarak they still had a popular referendum to approve聽it.鈥�
Brothers urge on voters
Even as the group challenges the parliament's dissolution, it is also聽urging Egyptians to vote for Morsi. Yet many Egyptians appear to be聽staying home. According to anecdotal reports from Cairo and around聽Egypt, turnout was light Sunday, with few of the long lines that were聽seen during the first round of parliamentary and presidential聽elections. The low turnout was likely partly a reflection of the fact聽that many Egyptians like neither candidate; more than half the聽electorate did not vote for either during the first round.
But according to some non-voters, it is also shows the lack of trust聽in the system after Thursday鈥檚 court ruling. 鈥淲hy participate in a聽system if the outcome is preordained?鈥� asked Salma Ahmed, who didn鈥檛聽bother to cast a ballot because she thinks the military will ensure a聽Shafiq victory, and she doesn鈥檛 like Morsi. 鈥淚 feel like I did under聽Mubarak鈥檚 time.鈥�
Young Brotherhood member Mostafa Saadawy cast his vote for Morsi聽today, but said he fears fraud. 鈥淭hey want to send a message to聽Egyptians that there is no hope, it is not useful to vote, so stay at聽home,鈥� he said of the court ruling. The message from the military, he聽says, is this: 鈥溾�橸ou will vote or not, but we will rule.鈥� This was the聽same message of Mubarak.鈥�