Egypt's democratic renaissance erased in a day

Egyptians protest against presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq in front of a blockade formed by Egyptian military police, outside the Supreme Constitutional Court, June 14, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt.

/ Getty

(CBS News) CAIRO - Sixteen months after it started, Egypt's transition to democracy is back where it began. The activists whose determination and mass rallies threw out the old order, are wondering how - even if - they can do it again.

The politicians who hoped to reap the legacy of the revolution by winning power are, again, at the mercy of the military generals who have ruled the nation since President Hosni Mubarak's ouster, and the streets are (by Cairo standards at any rate) their usual Friday holiday tranquil.

The hiatus is the result of yesterday's court ruling that new elections must be held to choose a lower chamber of parliament. The lower house was supposed to elect an assembly to draft a new constitution, but wrangling and jostling for power by the political parties meant the task had not even begun.

Now, that task will be back in the hands of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which said following the court's ruling that they would soon hold their first meeting to start hand-picking the members of a constitutional assembly.

Video: Egypt court dissolves newly-elected parliament
Legal "coup" derails Egypt's democracy bid
Egypt authorizes military to arrest civilians

The generals now will essentially determine how much power to hand the candidate who wins this weekend's run-off elections for the presidency.

"The election of a president in the absence of a constitution and a

parliament is the election of a president with powers that not even the

most entrenched dictatorships have known," said Mohammed el-Baradei, a former head of the United Nations nuclear agency, and a leading figure in the popular uprising which ousted Mubarak.

Complete coverage: The Arab Spring

Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi speaks in Cairo, June 14, 2012.

/ Getty

The contest for the presidency is between Ahmed Shafiq, a former prime minister in the last days of Mubarak's reign, and Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Many believe that if Morsi wins, the president will be reduced to a figurehead, because the generals are no fans of the Islamist-oriented Brotherhood, while Shafiq is a former military officer; in effect, one of their own.

In a speech a few hours after the court decision, Morsi condemned what he saw as an effort by a corrupt clique to nullify the revolution.

"We will not allow any of those criminals to return to power," he said. "We will continue to bring down what is left of the corruption and the corrupt regime. There is no real place for these criminals."

Another top Brotherhood official, Mohamed Beltagy went on state television to decry the Supreme Constitutional Court's decision as "a full-scale coup."

Former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fatouh said the military leaders were "deluding themselves if they think the youth will let this pass."

The young revolutionaries, however, are slowly coming to the realization that winning in the streets and being lionized on television is a far cry from being able to duck, weave and maneuver in the halls of power.

This story was filed by CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey, with editing by Tucker Reals and Khaled Wassef.

[bbarnes5557]

Any nit wit should have known that there is and probably will never be a democracy in a Muslim country..Islam is the only power that is recongnized and if the Brotherhood wins the election, anyone who stands in their way will be destroyed...Look at history in the middle east, have you ever seen a moderate leader rise and live to a ripe old age?????

[IMFurious]

The Islamic Brotherhood candidate stated as an objective if he wins to "permanently close the eyes of every man, woman and child in Israel".

Is this a person the US can support?

The choice here is whether America wants to support a dictatorship who hates America and wants to conduct genocide in Israel;

Or support a dictatorship that is willing to support American interests in the region, and remain "friends" with Israel.

Not a difficult choice at all for most Americans.

[cbsnews_viewer]

People want it simple but its not going to be simple. We need to sit back and read (Christian Science Monitor is good/csmonitor.com), listen to "what the ruling said, and what it did not" We don't need to love the CRONIES who want to keep unequal power and the know-nothing OBAMA admiinstration* who keeps shipping in US taxpayer money to them willy-nilly. I can quote Ron Paul here on foreign aid, all it does it take money from poorer (and regular) people in the US and ship it over to rich people in foreign countries. Stop sending Egypt free military aid. Brain surgery level intelligence is not needed here.
The ruling is about 1/3 of the seats in the Parliament that are supposed to be independent. The Muslim brotherhood (MB) overreached. They broke the rules. Yeah, they are excited. They been pushed out of power for thirty years. But taking rash action like they have plays into their opponents hand and makes them look amateurish. Amateurism does not build confidence. The big question: is this just a flim-flam to help keep the haves in power in Egypt vs the have-nots? Many in the military don't want to give up power. Democracy is not quick, and tipping the established order is not easy. The Obama administration does not need to study the situation, it needs a democratic policy that does not throw away 1/3 of the Arabic population away. Without firm, definite and immediate Administration statements it makes the US look hypocritical. Does 1/2 of the American public care, its debatable. Does half of the American public have the ability to pick out Egypt on a map?

*If you think Romney is better, you don't know Romney and 1/2 of his GOP party. Come'on would you trust Gingrich or Bachman if you where Egyptian? I wouldn't after 30 years of one man/one party rule.

[duke0518]

It is entertaining, seeing all the "experts" say what they think happened, and arguing over Christian/Muslim/conservative/progressive like they know more than what is reported in the news.

Take off your blindfolds, look around once in a while, and pay attention and you'll start understanding.

[boocbsboooooooooo]

Way to go. We ousted a man who was our ally, and it will be replaced with a hellish type of ruler who will hate us. Did the same crap in Iraq and Libya.

[KnowerseekerReturns]

No, we're replacing him with his deputy. The status quo will be maintained.

[1stlttightwad]

Looks like Obama has not had a good week..even his brotherhood is being minimalized. People do wake up...eventually. Are listening Mr. soon to be ex pres.

[KnowerseekerReturns]

The Brotherhood isn't Obama's. His thing is so-called "Christian" white-hatred a la "Reverand" Wright, not the Muslim version. :-)

[jnostromo]

Imagine what could have been done with the billions poured into these cesspool countries...the american debt is due to nation building...time for it to stop..Time to put America and Americans first. Deal with the foreign invaders in our country and stop worrying about vermin.

[raymailhot]

These faux attempts at creating a republic of the likes we enjoy all end up with a democratic "French Revolution" style dictator coming in and developing some sort of internal peace to stop the majority from eliminating everyone else. To do it right the players have to understand the necessity for the "rule of law" and to apply it equally. I doubt Egypt will see these freedosm with the brotherhood in place.

[stormerF69]

Could they not have done this before Hillary and Obama gave them 1.5 billion of our tax dollars?

[Nikos_Retsos]

Egypt's democratic renaissance was just a controlled mirage of a plan designed by the U.S. and the Egyptian military. The latest judicial coup is part of the plan that started with a U.S. forced military coup that ousted Mubarak, and then the junta ordered his VP Omar Suleiman to announce that he had quit. He didn't. It was just a make-believe plan to corral the Revolution. What is happening now is the follow up stages of that plan. It happened in Vietnam too, when a U.S. led coup by General Nguyen Van Thieu, and Air Force Marshal Nguyen Van Cao Ky ousted the unpopular president Ngo Diem. Diem was assassinated, but Mubarak was not. He is still an asset to the U.S. from behind the scenes -save his farcical trial and conviction, but the acquittal of his top police commanders and his sons!

The Egyptian Supreme Court judges, the military junta, and Ahmed Shafik are all Mubarak's loyalists. The Mubarak regime was just re-configured and it is still intact. And now that the Egyptians have been almost exhausted with protests, the Mubarak Regime has stricken back by dissolving their chosen parliament, and by raising Shafiks stature to replace Mubarak as president!

As I see it, everything goes according to the plan, as I explained in my blog at the British Daily Telegraph, titled "EGYPT: AHMED SHAFIK, THE CIA'S MAN FOR PRESIDENT," which went viral in the Arab world. Most Egyptians knew something sinister was going on, and that is why they kept the protests ongoing.

Now the moment of truth has arrived. And unless there is a revolt by lower military officers against the Egyptian military junta, the Revolution is already in the bag, and the dump truck is on the way! Nikos Retsos, retired professor

[KnowerseekerReturns]

Thanks for the comment. I looked up your original article and read through it. It shames and angers me the things that my government (the U.S.A.) does to other countries, things that don't reflect the principles we were founded upon. I am a white Christian, but if Arab countries democratically elect a Muslim theocracy, then so be it, as long as The People keep their power. Democracies need to respect each other, even when they disagree.

[JamesSao]

If true, cudos to the CIA!