Egypt’s first real presidential election ended in a tie between a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and a former member of the Mubarak regime. Not exactly a result to set revolutionary hearts aflutter. Now the two will face off in a run-off election.
The Los Angeles Times offers a nicely written, succinct report by Jeffrey Fleishman and Amro Hassan. Some snips:
The campaigns of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik sought to broaden their appeal before their runoff election next month. Neither man is regarded as epitomizing the spirit of the revolution — Shafik was prime minister during the deadly crackdowns on protesters days before Mubarak fell last year — but politics is often about image readjustment.
[…]
“I pledge to every Egyptian that there will be no turning back and no re-creation of the old regime,” Shafik said at a news conference. “Egypt has changed, and there will be no turning back the clock. We have had a glorious revolution. I pay tribute to this glorious revolution and pledge to be faithful to its call for justice and freedom.”
[…]
Morsi’s campaign did its best to invoke the revolution too. The Brotherhood, which controls nearly 50% of the parliament, was late to the revolt and has since been criticized by activists as being more politically opportunistic than patriotic. The Brotherhood — one can almost hear a trill of ominous violins — has characterized Shafik as a Darth Vader-like holdover from the Mubarak era.
Love the evocation of cinematic sound effects. Hey, the paper’s in L.A. You won’t find that kind of thing in a New York Times news report.
