Egyptians return to polls for a second day
CAIRO — Egypt entered its final day of voting on Sunday with very few people going to the polls to choose Hosni Mubarak’s successor under a cloud of apprehension and anticipation. Turnout appeared dismal in a sign of just how polarizing and demoralizing the choice between a military strongman and conservative Islamist is for the Arab World’s most populous nation.
The country’s military junta was expected to issue a constitutional decree within hours, according to the state’s Middle East News Agency, which would define the president’s powers. It would be a move that revolutionaries and the once-repressed Muslim Brotherhood condemned as a sign the military rulers continue to dictate rather than manage the transition to what Egyptians had hoped would be democracy.
On Saturday, Egyptians expressed wariness as they lined up in swelter- ing heat to vote in the runoff election for a replacement for ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
In sharp contrast to recent elections, the mood in Cairo and across the country was largely tense as Egyptians contemplated the polarizing choice between Mohamed Morsi, a conservative Islamist, and Ahmed Shafiq, who was Mubarak’s last prime minister.
With the country’s lower house of parliament dissolved, the constitution suspended and the revolution pronounced all but dead, the outcome of the presidential vote that continues Sunday could not be more consequential.
“This is a decisive moment, but nobody feels confident about anything,” said Samia, 45, a Shafiq supporter who asked to be identified by her first name because of her government job. “It’s like rolling the dice and hoping for the best.”
The runoff began two days after a court ruling led to the dissolution of the lower house of Egypt’s Islamistdominated parliament, a move that activists and some leading political figures described as a soft military coup. A small movement of boycotters urged voters to spoil their ballots in what they saw as an illegitimate election under military rule.
The once-repressed Muslim Brotherhood has thrived since the revolt that overthrew Mubarak. The group dominated the parliament and took a sizable share of the seats in a body tasked with writing a new constitution.
After the dissolution of the lower house of parliament this week, though, the military junta assumed all legislative powers. Military chiefs are soon expected to appoint a new constitutional assembly and issue a decree outlining the powers of the presidency.
That means the Brotherhood’s sole hope of remaining politically powerful in the short run lies with Morsi.
On Saturday, the Brotherhood appeared to be laying the groundwork to cry fraud if Shafiq is pronounced the winner. The group released a statement listing alleged violations, including military conscripts voting illegally and the arrest of revolutionaries holding pictures of slain protesters outside polling stations. However, the Brotherhood did not claim widespread fraud and expressed confidence that Morsi would win.
The group’s political wing had harsh words for Egypt’s military.
Dissolving parliament “confirms the desire of the military to take all authority against popular will,” a statement from the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party said. It said only a popular referendum could disband parliament. The statement called the move “an attack on the great Egyptian Revolution” and warned that the party would not honor the military’s decree about presidential powers.
“Egyptians, defend your will, continue to vote heavily,” the statement said. “Remember the blood of the martyrs and the pain of the injured and do not allow in any way the return of the tyrannical and despotic regime that has always despised the Egyptian people.”
Egypt’s transition has been marred by division among liberals, leftists and Islamists as well as what many see as the military rulers’ intention to protect their economic and political interests at the cost of democracy.
This week, the Justice Ministry effectively put the nation under martial law, authorizing the military police to arrest any citizen suspected of a wide range of crimes.
After voting in his home province of Sharqiya, Morsi promised a crowd of supporters, “I will lead you to the new Egypt and stability.”
“With our soul, with our blood, we’re with you, Morsi,” men chanted, thronging around the black sport-utility vehicle that carried the candidate.
In contrast, Shafiq slipped in through a side door of his polling station in suburban Cairo. The school was sealed off while he voted, and the former prime minister left with little fanfare.
Turnout appeared high in some parts of the country but relatively low in the capital. Polling stations opened at 8 a.m., and some Egyptians waited more than an hour to slip their ballots into plastic bins. Final results are expected Thursday.