Egypt: update on recent developments

The final round of Egypt’s Presidential elections pitted a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Mursi, and Muburak’s former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq against each other. Prior to parliamentary elections earlier this year, the Muslim Brotherhood had promised not to field a candidate for the presidency; however, they later reneged on this decision. The first round of voting saw the secular and liberal vote split between differing candidates, occasioning victory for Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq, who were subsequently cleared for the final run-off.

After a deeply polarising election, with claims of widespread voter fraud and corruption from both sides, Mohammed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood was announced as the new President of Egypt. The Electoral Commission had initially delayed the result for several days after claims of irregularities were submitted by both candidates. It is understood that over four hundred allegations of voter fraud were submitted by the candidates, including accusations of stolen votes, vote for cash, and accusations of backroom deals and promises of power in exchange for votes. In a CNN interview, popular Egyptian blogger Mohamed Salem, also known as ‘Sandmonkey’, echoed the belief that there has been widespread voter fraud by both candidates and said that “there is no transparency in the system” and “all the institutions are corrupt”. The Carter Centre, which observed the elections, has also concluded that elections may not have been fair.

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