Egypt comes before Mursi!
More than 22 million Egyptians have signed a petition calling on the Islamist President Muhammad Mursi to step down. The popular attempt to impeach the president is the result of a dangerous polarization caused by the exclusive approach of Mursi and his Islamist allies and their lack of understanding of what democracy entails. While supporters of Mursi have the right to question the validity and authenticity of the collected signatures, Mursi’s resignation could save the country from slipping into a state of civil unrest or anarchy.
The defiance (Tamarod) of June 30 is a watershed in the democratic transition that Egypt has witnessed since the demise of Mubarak’s rule. And yet, the opposition has no constitutional mechanism through which Mursi can be compelled to step down. Many observers make the case that the Tamarod leaders hope that disorder follows when millions of Egyptians — whether in the opposition or in support of Mursi — take to the streets. If anarchy follows, then the army can intervene to oust Mursi. Far from being implicit, many in the opposition called on the army to step in and remove Mursi.
Mursi never understood the need to cultivate an image of a president for all Egyptians. It was obvious for a while that an increasing number of Egyptians was turning against him because of his exclusive approach. The fact that he was freely elected made him believe that his legitimacy was untouchable. Nevertheless, the Egyptian society — the youth in particular — has been getting more frustrated because of the failure of the president to deliver.
As the campaign to impeach him gained momentum, Mursi dismissed the call for early elections as ridiculous. His claim that the Tamarod is nothing but a plot prepared by communists, remnants of the former regime and extremist Coptic Christians only added insult to injury. These statements made by Mursi and his supporters are not expected to calm the opposition. Therefore, barring a last minute decision to avoid a serious confrontation, the situation may go out of control.
In this case, Egyptians will be turning their eyes on the only institution that enjoyed the respect of all Egyptians: The army. Explicit in many statements made by the army top echelon is that the army will not allow for mayhem to prevail. These statements give the impression that the army may step in and take over to stabilize Egypt and then think of the next step.
Over the last few months the military leadership made it perfectly clear that it does not look for a political role but it would do what it takes to safeguard the security situation in the country. But the army remains vague as what it would do if the security situation deteriorates. All the army did was to send a clear message to the president that he needed to deliver on his promises and improve his performance without giving the opposition the go-ahead to create anarchy.
No one is certain as to what the army may do in order to control the security situation. The expected military intervention can take various forms: Removing the president from office, suspending the constitution, or even suppressing the Tamarod.
Things in Egypt could take a nasty turn as millions of Egyptians lost faith in their first freely-elected president. The failure of Mursi cannot be more obvious. His government has no vision whatsoever for dealing with the economic hardships. If anything, the slogan “Islam is the solution” does not resonate well with the growing number of unemployed. At the end of the day, people look at the economic situations and realize that Mursi does not fit the bill.
The tragic flaw that has haunted President Mursi is that he understands democracy as nothing but elections. His deep faith that his election as a president was all he needed to put the programs of his Islamic party into action. While Mursi was elected fairly and freely, his victory should not be seen as a mandate for him to remodel the Egyptian society along his Islamic vision that the majority of the society does not share. I believe that this is the root cause for the evolvement of the grass root opposition to his legitimacy. His lack of understanding that Egypt should come before him and his party will cost him a lot in the near future.
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