Egypt’s recent attempt at democracy expectedly flopped as a result of several factors.

Egypt’s military, urged on by unrelenting and impatient millions of demonstrators, on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 overthrew the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Mursi. The coup, coming barely a year after the inauguration of Egypt’s first-ever elected leader, was not a surprise, given the country’s history and recent happenings. All these factors appear to have laid the setting for the imminent failure of the attempt at democratic rule.

Monarchy, Military Rule

Unlike most African countries that have had elected leaders since independence, Egypt, in all of its 5,000-year written history, had until the election of Mursi, never had an elected president. The country had all along been ruled by monarchs and military presidents. Though crowds in 2011 rose up against the regime of erstwhile leader, Hosni Mubarak and finally edged him out, the street demonstrators did not seem to comprehend what they were asking for. Barely a year into a four-year term, hordes of protesters impatient with the pace of political and economic change, returned to the streets to demand the resignation of Mohamed Mursi and the holding of early elections. All this in a presidential democracy!

Weak Institutions

For a country that had never experienced democracy under civilian administration, the institutions could not be expected to be strong and independent. The all-powerful and wealthy military, often described as a State within a State, still saw itself as the king makers, even under democracy. And when the opportunity presented itself, they quickly stepped in, kicking out the Head of State who sought to exercise his executive powers. On the other hand, most members of the judiciary who were appointed during Mubarak’s long years in power remained largely loyal to him. They did everything to frustrate efforts by the new government to pass a new constitution and elect a new parliament.

Flawed Transition Process

In order to ensure that it continued to remain relevant, the transitional military council of Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, shortly before Mursi’s swearing in on June 30, 2012, passed a decree significantly curbing his powers. In some instances, the new President was supposed to get the consent of the military before taking key decisions! Earlier on June 14, 2012, the Supreme Court dissolved the new Parliament for allegedly being elected on the basis of an unconstitutional law. Thus, the new leader on taking power, found himself hamstrung by a draconian military decree limiting his powers and the absence of a new Constitution and Parliament. Though President Mohamed Mursi later revoked the controversial decree, firing and retiring the military top brass, the conflict between the two sides was bound to come to a ahead, sooner, rather than later.

Revolution Losers

Making maximum use of its tested underground organisational ability in decades of Mubarak oppression, the Moslem Brotherhood and their Islamist parties won both the cancelled parliamentary polls and the presidential election. This followed a painstaking electoral process lasting several months. Both elections were generally adjudged to have been transparent. Other disparate groups that equally fought hard to overthrow Mubarak found themselves relegated to the background in the new dispensation. Thus, it was common to hear them complain that the Moslem Brotherhood had ‘hijacked’ the revolution.

Negating Rule Of Law

Emboldened by the protests that eventually forced Hosni Mubarak to resign in February 2011, Egyptians in the last year were quick to take to the streets to protest any government decision they disagreed with. For example, at least 30 people were killed in days of violent riots in Port Said last January after a court handed down death sentences on 21 football hooligans. The convicts were accused of masterminding riots at a February 2011 match between rival club sides Al-Ahly and Al-Masry in which 74 people died. Such repeated demonstrations inevitably worsened the already poor state of the economy, one of the reasons for which Mursi was overthrown.

Narrow Political Base

President Mohamed Mursi’s administration was also accused of concentrating power in the hands of the Moslem Brotherhood and its Islamist allies. His critics argue that he ought to have broadened his political base by involving members of other parties and interest groups in running the country, given the already polarised political situation.