Post-Election Thoughts (Ikhwan Edition!)

Well, the elections have come and gone and they were relatively uneventful. They weren't particularly strange, and unless you lived in Shoubra or Giza, there was very little in way of activity. I didn't notice much of anything downtown other than the plethora of posters for Tagammu, which is Egypt's pseudo-communist party (one of which I took off the wall in front of my flat - might take some more, let me know if you want one). I think elections were more interesting in poorer districts and outside of the city where there was more controversy regarding electoral tactics and greater political mobilization.

The biggest news seems to be that the Ikhwan didn't win a single seat outright, losing the 88 seats they had gained in 2005. They are now pulling out of the runoff elections this coming weekend, which comes as little shock. The Brotherhood took a particularly big hit in the opposition community for not joining the el-Baradei-led boycott and pursuing their own agenda. Some have taken this as a sign of the Brotherhood's increasing irrelevancy, though I'm not entirely sure I'm willing to make that claim yet. They are in the midst of a sort of soul-searching following the departure of Mehdi Akef as Supreme Guide and no one, even within the organization, thought they would win a single seat this election. They still remain the only major organized opposition movement that hasn't been co-opted by the NDP. Granted, this slide into irrelevancy comes at an awkward time with the parliamentary elections having passed and presidential elections next year, though I don't see the long-term prospects changing for the Brotherhood. They are, and likely will remain, the dominant force in Egyptian opposition.