Egyptians need to deal with crisis collectively
Even though Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi and his Islamist political allies have managed to secure the majority of the public’s approval for the draft constitution, the real political test for the president is whether he can reach out to his opponents and achieve a national reconciliation; a much needed requirement for the country to face its daunting socioeconomic problems.
Forging a national reconciliation is not the responsibility of the president and his allies only, but also the duty of the other political forces, which have now regrouped under the banner of the National Salvation Front (NFS). Now that the elections are over and the draft constitution has been approved by the democratic means of the ballot box and a national referendum, the political forces in Egypt need to move beyond their political and ideological differences and responsibly employ democratic tools for decision-making. In order for democracy to be upheld and to allow the ballot box to be a source of legitimacy, voters should be given the chance to weigh in various parties and candidates, and be given the chance to scrutinize their programs.
One of the noticeable aspects of the referendum debate in Egypt is that the domestic media adopted an adverse position toward the draft constitution and President Mursi. In fact some surveys found out that more than 90 percent of the talk shows in some 15 Egyptian channels, including those run by the government, took a biased stance against the constitution and the president.
This should not come as a surprise given the long tradition of negative coverage against the Islamists and their programs. Moreover, given the lack of established democratic traditions that entail freedom of expression, the recent constitution debate has lacked neutral media coverage. As such, there was hardly any serious debate about the actual content of the draft constitution, its shortcomings and what could have been done to overcome these issues.
Rational debate and professional reporting can help pave the way for solid foundations of national consensus. But unfortunately various political groups and opposing factions made use of the available communication outlets to advance biased perceptions, with no attention given to the substance of the debate. Moreover, this approach makes it easy for the warring factions to brand one another as Islamist or secular, and fuel hostile connotations.
To make matters worse, the opposition staged demonstrations without providing any alternative recourse or solution. If political factions want to exercise their democratic right to bring down a government, they must be able to provide viable alternatives. However, before that materializes, political factions must adhere to respecting the law and accepting one another as equals. These principles are not taught in schools nor adopted after signing documents, they are an outcome of continuous practice. That is why democracy is more about conceding defeats, and not simply crying foul about rigging.
Moreover, for a country like Egypt that has been denied genuine democratic practice for more than half a century, it is hard to expect the first trial to go smoothly. There are definitely those who hope for a one-man show or wish the military citing commitment to the national cause will intervene, take over somehow and remove their opponents from the scene.
Democracy after all is a process. It will have its ups and downs, but the graph should be pointing upward. And that can only happen if there is an accumulation of experiences that people build upon and develop. There is some talk that the new constitution will face legal challenges. That is good, if it is to happen, as it adds to the much-needed democratic experience in Egypt and the entire region.
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