To validate the results of the referendum on Egypt's new constitution, its organizers saw fit to go back to the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Egypt's High Election Commissioner Judge Nabil Salib announced the successful results of the referendum and took care to mention that today's officers are the brothers and sons of the heroes of the October War; he praised in particular Colonel Zaki Youssef.
In Egypt's military history books, Youssef is called one of the heroes of his generation. According to the Egyptian version, he discovered the water cannons that shot huge quantities of water against the Israeli earthworks, washing them away. The connection that Judge Salib sought to send was clear: the spirit of teamwork of October 1973 exists in the military leadership of January 2014.
Over the past 24 hours, commentators inside and outside Egypt have rushed to analyze the numbers published by the High Election Commission. According to Judge Salib, 20 million Egyptians (98.1% of the voters) voted in favor of the constitution. 38.1% of eligible voters voted. This is a low proportion for citizens in the West, but not in the Arab world, where the ballot box is treated with contempt and indifference, and is perceived as a place of forgery and intervention from on high.
For the organizers, it was important to say, as important as mentioning the figures, that the support for the new constitution was double the support a year ago for the previous constitution approved during the government of ousted President Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Public legitimacy is the name of the game.
Anyone who reads Egypt's new constitution may, with justice, be impressed by its liberal articles, especially Article 161, which grants parliament the authority to oust a service president, and Article 3, which gives Jews and Christians freedom of religion and worship. But few people debated all the 247 articles, and presumably few of the voters read them.
But none of that is important. Three times in the past three years, Egyptians have been called to the voting booths to have their say about a constitution. Experience shows that the regime ignores the constitution with laws, presidential decrees, and convenient decisions anchored in emergency laws.
The importance of Egypt's new constitution is that it is a link in the chain that the regime has established in its efforts to rescue Egypt from the mire. It was the first test of the officers' regime, and they passed it with flying colors. The public came to the polls (albeit fewer than claimed), important friends sent congratulations (beginning with Saudi Arabia), and the path to the next stage has been paved. Even the violence was under control: 15 people were killed over the constitution - a low number by Egyptian standards.
A celebration of democracy, Judge Salib called it. So what if the Muslim Brotherhood leadership has been thrown in jail? The regime is looking forward, to establish parliament and appoint a new president.
The Muslim Brotherhood's role in government was ahead of its time. Egypt, which lost its eternal president in the form of Hosni Mubarak, was not ready for a two-party regime or government. It must embark on a long march to stability, at the end of which it may have the necessary flexibility to allow others to share power. Any other formula is a shortcut that is liable to shake the country's foundations.
Who are we to preach?
Criticism by some Israelis over the pushing aside of democracy and the excessive use of force by the officers' regime should itself be criticized. Who are we to judge the millions of Egyptians who every day pay the price of their unelected leaders' past mistakes? Who are we to expect them to emerge from tyranny to freedom within just a few years? Before we preach to them from our smugness, we should remember that charismatic leadership, in the form of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is exactly what Egypt and its neighbors need right now.
The international criticism of Sisi's tough conduct should take into account that, for the first time since the hasty ouster of Mubarak, a strong and charismatic Egyptian leader has emerged who has the chance to pull the country out of the mire.
"Democracy?" an Egyptian friend told me, "For me, democracy is the freedom to cross Tahrir Square without getting hit by a barrage of stones."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 20, 2014
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014