It may be a long time before we see the type of protests that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on 12 February 2011. Nevertheless, it appears that the Egyptian revolution is still in progress. Though the current protest against President Mohamed Morsi is still largely concentrated outside the presidential palace in Masr el- Gedida, it’s clear that all is not well for his administration.
It may be a long time before we see the type of protests that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on 12 February 2011. Nevertheless, it appears that the Egyptian revolution is still in progress. Though the current protest against President Mohamed Morsi is still largely concentrated outside the presidential palace in Masr el- Gedida, it’s clear that all is not well for his administration. Since the Muslim Brotherhood’s Morsi was sworn in following a run-off election a few months ago, the most populous Arab country has not seen the much talked-about peace and prosperity that the Arab Spring revolution has sought. Rather, it has been one political gamble after another amid a worsening economic crisis.
It all started on 22 November when Morsi gave himself sweeping new powers in a presidential decree. The following week, the Constituent Assembly – dominated by his Islamist supporters – adopted a new draft constitution that he has put to referendum on 15 December. His decision caused nationwide uproar and forced the constitutional judges to go on strike. In protests that followed, rivals clashed outside the presidential palace, with protesters breaching the palace cordon. This forced Morsi to rescind his presidential decree, though at press time he insisted the referendum will go ahead.
Regardless, it is important that Morsi is made to understand the serious implications of his actions. Protecting the revolution by way of presidential decrees in no way fosters the true democratic ideals for which the Egyptian people had craved for decades under the Mubarak regime. We call on President Morsi to follow due process if the transi- tion to democracy in Egypt is to be successful.
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