The new Prime Minister of Egypt, Ibrahim Mehlib, swore in
the new Egyptian government on Saturday March 1st. This reshuffle
kept the powerful ministries of defense and interior in place, meaning that
Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is still the country’s defense minister. He
is actually expected to run for president in elections happening in April. Interior
Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, who is in charge of Egypt’s police force is also
still in place which is controversial because there has been a lot of criticism
over how he is handling the rising violence the police force is using against
protestors and dissent.
This reshuffle is due to the shocking resignation on Monday
of most of the Cabinet including the Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblaw. Field
Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is responsible for overthrowing Islamist President
Mohammad Morsi back in July. The president had backed prim minister el-Beblawi’s
government rough violent times including the crackdown on Morsi’s Muslim
Brotherhood and a nationwide referendum that adopted a new constitution. This
all happened while Islamic military insurgency and acts of terror continued to
occur in Egypt.
The surprise resignation is believed to have happened so
close to the Presidential elections because of the rising discontent and
criticism of the Cabinet. They were being accused of failing to stem widening
labor strikes and continued protests throughout the county. Parliamentary
elections are expected to occur by the summer which will reinstall a new government.
This new interim government is actually the sixth since 2011
and the second interim government after Morsi was ousted. This is significant
to the Arab community because it means Egypt is facing more uncertainty in the
face of their already drained economy and will still be facing problems of
protests and upheaval until something is done to stop it, and no one knows if
this new interim government will be able to stop it.
It is always interesting to see how different countries adjust to being a democracy. Egypt's first attempt at having a democratically elected president obviously did not work out and resulted in a military coups. Now they appear to be preparing for another round of presidential elections with general Sissi as a front runner. How likely is it that the next president succeeds?
ReplyDelete