By Lawrence Ntim '17
February 24th 2014 marked the day that Egypt’s cabinet resigned and set the tone for another revision of the current governmental scheme in the nation. Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi announced his resignation on the morning of the 24th with few explicit details. Many believe that this resignation is largely due to criticism from certain branches of society such as advocacy groups and the military as well as citizens against the government.
Egyptian citizens have grown upset with this governing body because of its inability to manage the economic downturn and food shortages, among other issues. But now with this resignation, Egypt must try and move the country forward without its chief executive body which makes this three-year-long civil war transition all the more difficult.
This event adds more worry and pressure to a nation that is still waiting to amend its constitution and hold national elections to replace interim President Adly Mansour, who has declared that he will not run again for office. This is especially troubling due to the fact that the country has been moving closer and closer to a military autocracy.
The military’s increasing involvement in politics and state governance is bound to increase its role in the nation, as a result of the people’s hatred and disdains towards the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that former President Morsi was a leading member of.
The main significance of the prime minister’s resignation is that it opens the door for the military chief Field Marshal Abdel Fatah Al-Sissi, who also acts as deputy prime minister and defense minister, to run for president. Without Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi as a hurdle, it is very likely that the military chief will launch a campaign that could possibly prove quite successful and secure the support behind him.
In the event that Field Marshal Fatah Al-Sissi succeeds in the next election, a significant change would occur in the way that Egypt is run internally and the way that the country responds to external forces and negotiations. Though the election is largely based on speculation, from a business perspective, such a political situation would affect the volatility and uncertainty of investment in the region.
The likelihood of political stability and peace to occur within the nation is unlikely given the fact that the violence remains as the mechanism by which armed citizens and groups express their anger. The state has been unsuccessful in demilitarizing these violent groups and bringing an end to all the ferocity. Egypt has numerous logistical issues such as re-defining the Constitution before stability can be established and the nation can be put in a position to act as a self-sustaining state. Eventually, Egypt may overcome all the political chaos and become a great power within the region, but that time is still well into the distance.