dagblog - Comments for "Euphoric, Egyptians Vote on Future"

I'm actually heartened by the

acanuck — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 08:00:47 +0000

In reply to Voting along sectarian and

I'm actually heartened by the fact that almost a full quarter cast "no" ballots. The argument that people should reject partial changes that everyone agrees are positive, in order to hold out for more fundamental ones, is a rather nuanced one. But millions of ordinary Egyptians seem to have understood, suggesting secular democrats have a pretty solid base to build on.

A parliamentary election in June doesn't leave them much time to organize. On the bright side, they ended Mubarak's three-decade reign in just 18 days. If they unite and co-ordinate their efforts, they'll make good showings in urban areas. There will probably be a unity government that includes the Brothers. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Fears of a

artappraiser — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:48:24 +0000

In reply to Euphoric, Egyptians Vote on Future

Fears of a 'counter-revolution' in Egypt
By Mark Levine, Al Jazeera, 20 Mar 2011 14:17

Activist says he is one of many beaten and tortured by police one month after Mubarak's ousting.

As Egypt prepared to vote on a constitutional referendum on Saturday, I caught up with two activists who were at the centre of the revolution for much of the time protests gripped Meidan Tahrir in Cairo...

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/201132071452793639....

Voting along sectarian and

artappraiser — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:40:21 +0000

In reply to Euphoric, Egyptians Vote on Future

Voting along sectarian and class lines, and also country mouse vs. city mouse; very disappointing for the secular liberal youth movement; a yearning for stability in order to get back to business, tourism, etc.:

Egyptian Voters Approve Constitutional Changes
By Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times, March 20, 2011

CAIRO — Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum on constitutional changes on Sunday that will usher in rapid elections, with the results underscoring the strength of established political organizations, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, and the weakness of emerging liberal groups.

More than 14.1 million voters, or 77.2 percent, approved the constitutional amendments; 4 million, or 22.8 percent, voted against them....

“It is very, very disappointing,” said Hani Shukrallah, who is active in a new liberal political party and is the editor of Ahram Online, a news Web site.

He and many other opponents of the referendum said religious organizations had spread false rumors, suggesting that voting against the referendum would threaten Article 2 of the Constitution, which cites Islamic law as the main basis for Egyptian law.

“I saw one sign that said, ‘If you vote no you are a follower of America and Baradei, and if you vote yes you are a follower of God,’ ” he said. “The idea is that Muslims will vote yes and Copts and atheists will vote no.” ....
The results called into question how much the expected front-runners were really in tune with Egyptian voters.
Most “no” votes emerged from Cairo and Alexandria, Mr. Shukrallah noted, whereas support flowed in heavily from the provinces.
“The revolution was a revolution of the big cities,” he said. “The provinces are just not there. The secular values that drove the revolution have not reached them.”
Essam el-Erian, the spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, hailed the results, saying that most Egyptians wanted to move forward toward rapid change, though he noted that the 23 percent opposed should not go unnoticed.....

Egyptian voters say ‘yes’ to speedy elections
By Richard Leiby, Washington Post, March 20, 6:34 PM

CAIRO —.....the referendum exposed some sectarian and class fault lines in the Arab world’s most populous nation. The well-organized Muslim Brotherhood urged a “yes” vote, whereas the Christian Coptic community opposed the amendments. So did many secular political leaders and organizers of the student movement that gathered forces to oust Mubarak, who resigned Feb. 11......
Other “no” voters in well-off areas raised alarms that approving the changes would tilt Egypt toward Islamist fundamentalism and pointed to the Muslim Brotherhood’s strong following among the poor and less educated. But a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman, Essam el-Erian, scoffed at the suggestion that the vote was sectarian.

“Voting was based on patriotic common ground,” he said. “Voting was based on political ideologies rather than religious ones...We are looking to the future, looking for a complete civilian state.”

But Ahmad Maher, a coordinator of one of the revolutionary youth groups, insisted that the voting broke down along sectarian lines. “In the coming period, we will try to spread political awareness among people and combat this shameful tendency of using religion for political goals,” he said.

To Kristen Stilt, an Arabic-speaking law professor from Northwestern University who talked to many voters Saturday as part of her research on Egyptian constitutional law, the landslide “yes” signaled the public’s yearning for stability.

“Despite the revolution, most Egyptians still cling to the structures of the past — a government, a president — and say that these are the structures we must have now,” she said. “People say, ‘When will the economy get better, when will the tourists come back? When we have a government in place.’ ”

That reflected the hopes of “yes” voter Mostafa Hassan, a Cairo dry cleaner. “Egypt is a free country now,” he said. “Of course, I am very happy. It will be good for business.”....

It did pass, BTW, approved

acanuck — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 02:44:16 +0000

In reply to What happened to ElBaradei

It did pass, BTW, approved by more than three-quarters of those voting.

About 41% of those eligible to vote did cast ballots -- a vast jump over previous Egyptian elections, which everyone assumed to be rigged.

What happened to ElBaradei

acanuck — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 05:07:53 +0000

In reply to ElBaradei attacked during

What happened to ElBaradei was shameful, and the Muslim Brotherhood was quick to denounce it (the people roughing him up said they were Islamist; not all Islamists are Brothers). I agree with him that the constitutional changes proposed don't go far enough, but nothing stops the parliament to be elected in September from drafting a whole new constitution. I suspect the proposal will win overwhelming approval, and that ElBaradei will accept that as the freely expressed will of the people. And vice-versa, of course, if the proposal is voted down. Calling the revolution "a deeply divided mess" is pure hyperbole. A nation is giving birth to itself. Some pain is involved.

ElBaradei attacked during

artappraiser — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 02:34:51 +0000

In reply to Euphoric, Egyptians Vote on Future

ElBaradei attacked during Egypt referendum
UPI, March. 19, 2011 at 8:22 PM

....Ahram Online reported.

"He left his car and was headed to the polling station when a group of what looked like Salafists surrounded him and began chanting 'we don't want you,'" Mahmoud El Hetta, a founding member of the Independent People's Campaign in Support, said. "He returned to his car but before he could leave they attacked his car and smashed the glass in the rear window."

ElBaradei left without voting. "Went to vote with [my] family attacked by organized thugs," he tweeted later. "Car smashed with rocks. Holding referendum in absence of law and order is an irresponsible act. Top figures of [toppled Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak regime still at large undermining revolution. Something is terribly wrong!!"

ElBaradei wants to see the constitutional amendments defeated. Many Islamic groups support the changes.....

In a Divided Egypt, the Military and Islamists Play for Political Advantage
‎By Eric Trager, The Atlantic, March 18, 2011

Five weeks after Mubarak yielded his presidency to the unified masses of Tahrir Square, Egypt's could-be revolution is a deeply divided mess

CAIRO, Egypt -- On a traffic island-based podium in Tahrir Square, an activist concluded his call for Egyptians to vote down tomorrow's referendum....

Many Egypt Christians vote 'no', fearing Islamists
‎By Sarah Mikhail, Reuters, March 19, 2011

CAIRO, March 19 (Reuters) - Many Egyptian Christians say they voted on Saturday to reject proposed constitutional amendments in a referendum because they fear hasty elections to follow may open the door for Islamist groups to rise to power.

"I fear the Islamists because they speak in civil slogans that have a religious context, like when one said he believed in a civil Egypt but at the same ...

Hard to imagine why they

we are stardust — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 23:02:50 +0000

In reply to Euphoric, Egyptians Vote on Future

Hard to imagine why they would tie the time frame to the rest of the issues; 'fair' would have been voting on that as a second issue. Interpreting the vote seems like it will be fraught.