Egyptians are lining up to vote for a new president, the one that will replace the ousted Hosni Mubarak which will spend the rest of his life in jail.
This is a polarized elections, a vote on the fate of Egypt and if it will become a Sharia law state. Voters have to choose between a standard-bearer of the old secular autocracy and a veteran of its Islamist opposition.
Egyptian women cast their votes in the presidential runoff at a polling station in Cairo.Photograph: Majdi Fathi/ Majdi Fathi/ZUMA Press/Corbis
To make matters more complicated, Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that one-third of the parliamentarians had been elected illegitimately in the Parliament vote a few months ago. In essence, the Supreme Court dissolved the parliament entirely, dealing a major blow to the pro-Sharia forces in Egypt that had dominated it since elections last November.
Following the supreme court decision, the head of Egypt’s ruling military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, formally dissolved parliament and lawmakers have been barred from entering the legislature.
Was this a last minute attempt to avoid the radical Islamization of Egypt? Or a move on behalf of the generals that do not want to let go of power? Whatever the motive may be, voters feel their revolution has been hijacked yet again. With all the turmoil, it is impossible to try and guess which way Egypt will go.
Israel is watching closley as events unfold in Egypt. A grad long range rocket was fired today into Israel propably from Egyptian territory. Sinai desert has became a no man zone as armed Bedouins control the area and kidnap tourists as bargains chips to release their prisoners from Egyptian prisons.
How long will the peace process between Israel and Egypt last? it's hard to tell, let's hope that who ever is elected in Egypt will have the common sense to keep the area calm and secure.
