A shock

There’s no other word: the preliminary results of the elections since last midnight are really a shock.

After the vote counting of 25 out of 27 governorates, Mohamed Mursi is the front runner, followed by Ahmed Shafiq. How is this possible?

Mursi, the Muslim brother’s „spare tire“ – this expression was created by the Egyptians – has entered the presidential race only five weeks ago. The perfectly tuned campaign machinery of the MBs was at full speed: vote buying for 50 pounds and food packages for the needy included.

Nevertheless: many Egyptians said that they had been disappointed by the MBs work in parliament and they would not give them a second chance. Yet in spite of this, the MBs candidate got the highest share of the votes?

But the worse is still to come: Ahmed Shafiq is alledgedly on the second place. That means that there will be a run-off between the two of them in Mid-June. He is a “feloul”, a strongman from the old regime, has entered the presidential race also only recently, well knowing that he would be supported by well experienced fellows.

What a choice is this now: someone that wants to implement sharia and whose party is known meanwhile to be inapt regarding politics and to be liars against someone who personifies the old regime? Poor Egypt – what a shock!

Hamdeen Sabbahi, however, did surprisingly well; he is placed third. Intellectuals and the middle class voted for him. Losers are Abu El Fatouh, the ex-Muslim brother who could unite some Salafis in his favour, and Amr Moussa, the statesman and ex-President of the Arab Ligue.

It’s a strange result for me. But it seems as the final result will be as I’ve been supposing or fearing for some time already: Shafiq (or should I say straight forward “SCAF”?) will win in the end. I don’t see another way. When I push the shock away a bit, I can see clearer: it’s again a ringing slap in to the face, looks like revenge to the insubordinate Egyptian people. It looks like a hard punishment: now you can see what your revolution has brought to you: either a religious state or we continue as before. Egypt is obviously able to do the impossible: it starts a revolution, topples a dictator, pays with hundreds of deaths and an economic collapse only in order to elect a representative of the same dictatorship as their new president.

Activists, revolutionaries and liberals have understood meanwhile that they didn’t work well enough during the past 15 months. They will learn from their mistakes.

Those who hold the power and cling to it will also learn. What a disaster. What a long way to go for Egypt to reach self-determination, liberty and democracy.

The shock is deep, not as much with me, but more with the people around me.