Editorial
Military takeover in Egypt
A divided people caught in turmoil
THE military ouster of Mohammed Morsi, the first-ever popularly elected Egyptian president after only a year in office, is disquieting. We are against any takeover of power by extra-constitutional forces, whatever the exigencies.
Ostensibly, the Egyptian military has staged the coup amid widespread political unrest spearheaded by anti-Morsi demonstrations. The protestors comprising mainly liberals, secularists, minority Christians and disgruntled quarters of previous regime have been demanding Morsi's resignation. They highlighted his failures to salvage the economy, which went downhill and attempts to take all power in his own hands through a controversial constitutional declaration made last November.
This is a sad commentary on the 2011's January revolution of Egypt that overthrew the three-decade dictatorship of Hosni Mobarak in the hope of a corruption-free, liberal and democratic Egypt. Ironically, president Morsi has been deposed by a military that was instrumental in removing Mobarak from office paving the way for a universally recognised free and fair election that voted him into office.
Undoubtedly, Morsi had his failures. He failed to efficiently address the major concerns of the revolution, the Mobarak-era legacy of nose-diving economy and ever-worsening security situation verging on lawlessness. He attempted to place the President's decisions beyond judicial review triggering the public outcry. Worse yet, as a public leader he could neither engage his opponents in a dialogue, nor mobilise public opinion in his favour.
Even so, in a democracy, transfer of power can and should take place only through an election. But that democratic norm has been blatantly violated in Egypt's case.
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