CAIRO // The vote on a new constitution to many Egyptians was an opportunity to cast a ballot on Gen Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s possible presidential run rather than the 64-page, 247-clause document.
And those who did so are now waiting impatiently for the 59-year-old army chief to end the uncertainty and announce that he will run.
With a 98 per cent “yes” vote and a turnout of nearly 40 per cent, the referendum would go down as a milestone in the government’s fight against Islamists.
Those figures dealt a blow to the credibility of claims by Islamists that Mohammed Morsi remains the legitimate president. The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group from which Mr Morsi hails, boycotted the vote and vowed to stage massive demonstrations during last week’s vote.
But the turnout was higher than the 33 per cent the Islamists mustered for their own constitution in December 2012. Street protests left 11 people dead on the first day of the voting. No one died on the second day and, in all, they failed to pose a credible threat to the process.
The vote was mostly free and fair, with foreign and local observers reporting irregularities such as campaigning outside polling stations, but no fraud or rigging. This, in turn, has given the vote respectability and debunked Brotherhood claims that the referendum was a sham.
It was an emphatic endorsement of Mr Morsi’s removal, led by Gen El Sisi, on July 3 and of all the actions taken by the military-backed government since.
The results are likely to propel the military chief to the nation’s highest office: his moderate religious stance, popular appeal and perceived courage have led most Egyptians to see him as a saviour and a hero.
In Gen El Sisi, Egyptians will have a president that, many say, is a cut between Gamal Abdel-Nasser and a pragmatic leader on top of the complex realities of the world.
It is a sentiment born as much out of the adulation surrounding Gen El Sisi as the yearning for an end to three years of deadly turmoil and economic woes.
It is difficult to imagine that an El Sisi presidency will be a magic wand that solves the country’s large array of problems, from low productivity and traffic chaos to high unemployment, soaring crime and rising food prices.
There is also the worry for Gen El Sisi that his popularity would sink or even vanish altogether if he proves unable to provide quick results.
It is because of this danger that some in the general’s camp want him to stay on as defence minister and military chief and instead endorse a candidate of his choice.
This way, they say, he could continue to be something of a father figure to the nation, overseeing the work of an elected, civilian president, and maintain his popularity.
Furthermore, they say, Gen El Sisi is sorely needed at the head of the military at a time when Egypt’s national security is under a real threat, with Islamist militants waging an insurgency in the northern part of Sinai, Islamists in Libya smuggling weapons and fighters across the porous border with Egypt and hostility from a Hamas-ruled Gaza after the crackdown on the Palestinian group’s ideological cousins in Egypt – the Muslim Brotherhood.
But Gen El Sisi is unlikely to take that route because he would be too popular a defence minister, wielding more influence than the prime minister and the president combined, and undermining the entire governmental hierarchy.
Instead, he is likely to enter the race in a move than many Egyptians would see as the first step on the long road to recovery.
With generous aid from Gulf Arab nations, at least initially, Gen El Sisi may find the breathing space he needs to keep everyone happy, or at least calm, while he introduces the painful remedies for the country’s many ills.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae