Quiet Cheers For a Delay in Egyptian Elections

Khairi Abaza of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies echoes this sentiment. Having recently been in the region, he tells me, “The country is going through a debate that polarized the Egyptian politics. Legislative elections are due in September, then the elected parliament will choose 100 experts to draft the constitution. All political forces, with the exception of religious parties, want to agree on a constitution first, then delay the elections until all political forces have enough time to organize. For the pro-democracy parties and movements, it does not make any sense that the winner of the legislative elections will get a [lion’s] share in drafting the new constitution.”

In all of this, the role of the Egyptian military is critical. In a speech last week, Israeli ambassador Michael Oren emphasized the extent of military-to-military contacts with Egyptian officers and the degree to which Israel relies on Egypt’s military to maintain obligations under the Israel-Egypt treaty. Abaza shares this view, observing, “It is now up to the military to help in leveling the political ground by delaying the elections and supporting the idea of a constitution first.”