Majority Rule: The New President of Egypt

[Hutch Hogan]

Hey all, 

In international news recently, Mohammed Morsi, chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party of Egypt has been elected to the position of President of Egypt. 

The situation in Egypt has been making news since the Arab Spring in which Hosni Mubarak stepped down in 2011 from the position of the 4th President of Egypt.  Mubarak has held this office since 1981, when his predecessor Anwar El-Sadat was assassinated. 

Mohammed Morsi won 51% of the vote.  After being elected President, Morsi resigned from his position in the Muslim Brotherhood, though Morsi remains the chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party which was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood. 

There are some benefits and costs to this election, provided the Freedom and Justice Party gets its way with policy. 

Their economic platform should be welcoming to outsiders where the state has said that it is interested in a free market style economy "without manipulation or monopoly", this approach should hopefully keep the power of corporations low, especially close to cheap oil. 

However, the party has many troubling concerns regarding social freedoms.  They hold that women and Copts (Christians) are unsuitable for presidential office.  They are also founding themselves based on religious laws, though they say that "when we talk about the slogans of the revolution – freedom, social justice, equality – all of these are in the Shari'ah". 

 

There is also talk of Egypt reconsidering the Camp David Accords set out as a treaty with Israel, moderated by then President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. Tied to this is talks of strengthening Egypt's bond with Iran.  

 

This could present some worries for further unrest in the long and bloody struggle in the Middle East. 

 

Time will really be the one to tell what comes of this election, though I find that the election has favoured a disconcerting party. 

 

It is to be expected that a country with a majority of Islamic citizens where men over the age of 18 must vote would elect a party that mirrors some of the Islamic social beliefs, though as an atheist, I am skeptical of any state sponsored religion. 

 

-Hutch