This is an unprecedented scene in Egypt as well as many other Arab countries since their independence. People go to the voting ballots. They pick a president whose election is not falsified by the intelligence apparatuses, or the leaders of the party that appointed itself as a guardian over the country's fate and people's lives. This scene is to be analyzed by those who still question the future of the Arab Spring and those who still mock this headline and argue that nothing has changed in the Arab world since that historic incident when the young Mohammad Bouazizi set his body on fire in Tunisia. The majority of the Egyptians voted for the Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) candidate for the post of president. What is wrong with that? Doesn't the MB constitute a major part of the Egyptian population? Didn't the former presidents that ruled Egypt treat the group with contempt and pursued them and threw their leaders in jail, thus allowing them to declare themselves as being an oppressed, deprived, and chased-after group? Were there any benefits reaped by society as a result of the oppression and corruption that swept over the state's apparatuses and institutions and the turning of the country into the special property of the ruler and his entourage under the pretext of the open war against Islamists? If the new era – that is being lived by the Arab societies which experienced the revolutions and those that are still waiting for salvation – has a historic meaning, then this meaning consists of the hope that the past will not be repeated. Those who are running the era of the Arab Spring are no angels; and the Arab societies do not enjoy the western societies' deep awareness and full democratic practices. However, this road had to start somewhere. And it is hereby starting: the citizens' votes now have their weight in the voting ballots. Thus, the elected president can now be held accountable because he knows that the people who toppled the former dictator will not tolerate the newcomer if he were to betray their trust or follow the old path of tyranny. This applies to the MB affiliates as well as anyone else. The religion-infused MB slogan is no longer sufficient to prevent people from holding the president accountable. On the contrary, this slogan has turned into a heavy burden for the man who is carrying it because he has accessed power through the promises of reform, ending of the past corruption and the dreams to improve the economy. This doesn't mean that Morsi's road will be paved with roses. In Egypt, there are fears concerning the MB's access to power, how they will be dealing with society's issues and their ability to open up to the classes that do not believe in or even clash with their ideas. In Egypt and other places, there are also (mostly justifiable) fears concerning the Islamic movements' commitment to the values of democratic work and their respect for the principle of power transfer. On the other hand, there are tendencies in Egypt that cannot be overlooked and that push for returning to the old ways and for scaring the people off of the new phase. In addition, some still think of themselves as guardians of the country and the “under age" people. Some commanders of the Egyptian army might believe in that and they might be stirring Mohammad Morsi to practice his presidential jurisdictions based on that guardianship. But neither the army nor any other side will be able to disregard the election process that brought the new president and the people's votes for him. If such a confrontation were to take place, then it would be costly for the army and for the new phase. The steps taken by the army prior to the announcement of the presidential elections' outcomes – including the dissolving of the people's council, the constitutional declaration's supplement and other measures aiming at cornering the new president – could constitute the signs to the confrontation that some people are fearing. However, these steps will place the army in a position that opposes the popular will. The army did not take that position when it defended the January 25 revolution. It would be strange if it takes that position now that one and a half years have elapsed since the revolution and the appearance of its early fruits. In addition, if the Egyptian army were to proceed in this path, then it would be unable to obtain any regional or international cover since everyone feels that the democratic experience in Egypt must be granted a chance to thrive and be an example for the other regimes in the Arab region.
