“The Egyptian elections must be taken seriously”

Most comments about Egyptian elections have been sarcastic and faultfinding. Commentators have rather described them as a “farce”, the results of which are already known. However, despite such criticism, Egyptian elections may represent a very significant step toward a new era; even if they ended in Mubarak’s victory, they would have an impact not only on Egypt but also on all the countries in the region.
It is true that the latest elections held in Egypt were only an extension of the presidential term by the President himself. This time we must expect the same result but differently arranged as Mubarak has provided the required elements to organize more or less democratic elections. This allows us to rate them as the first and best elections ever in Egypt. The Egyptian experience will strongly influence the Arab world. So, we can expect elections in other countries such as Yemen, Sudan or Tunisia to follow the same way.
A new victory by Mubarak will not call the importance and results of the poll into question. His victory won’t surprise anybody because he is the man of the Egyptian political stage. His opponents will have to wait years to build a political presence for themselves which, in time, let them face Mubarak’s supremacy. We have not stopped urging Mubarak in our various articles to allow true opponents to challenge him in free and transparent elections. He is doing it today while opening a new page in the history of Egypt.