Poll Splitting Egyptians

First Stage of the Vote on Constitution: Many Egyptians turned out to vote in the ten governorates where it occurred yesterday. The others will vote next Saturday. Unofficial reports announce that a majority of voters voted "yes;" however the National Salvation Front is already declaring the process rigged. I like this post by Steve Gregg to an opinion piece on Al-Ahram Online today: "Unfortunately, the Muslim Brotherhood's ascent to power in Egypt repeats the history of liberal revolutions in that the revolutionaries are more violent and authoritarian than the despots they overthrow.

The French revolutionaries who overthrew King Louis XVI instituted the Reign of Terror. The Russian revolutionaries who overthrew Nicholas II instituted a regime which killed twenty million Russians. When the Kymer Rouge overthrew King Sihanouk, they instituted a regime which executed two million Cambodians. The Muslim Brotherhood is likely to make Egyptians pine for the despotism of Mubarak. I fear the worst is yet to come as they consolidate their rule. Then, Egypt will be lost for generations before it can find its way back to freedom and self-rule." Of course, in Egypt's case, the "real" revolutionaries got hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood who were better organized. They didn't get a chance to show whether they would be more open to discourse or not. Thomas Friedman's editorial in today's New York Times is well worth reading.