Egyptians of all backgrounds and political allegiances rose up and died to overthrow a corrupt and tyrannical military dictatorship. They fought for and won their freedom and a new democratic start for their country. Now that freedom is in jeopardy because the main opposition parties have announced their intention to boycott elections scheduled for April. It seems insane that the very thing for which politicians of all persuasions struggled and made their revolution is now being rejected. The National Salvation Front (NSF) which is made up of a mix of secular, liberal and left-wing parties has said it will not take part in the spring elections because it fears that they will be rigged against it by the Muslim Brotherhood of President Mohamed Morsi. This is a most unwise tactic. These opposition politicians should be asking themselves how they would feel now, if last year one of their candidates had won the presidency and a slim majority in the first and cancelled free parliamentary elections. Then after the poll was annulled and fresh elections called, the Muslim Brotherhood and its political allies were themselves refusing to participate. Their reaction would be clear. They would condemn their opponents as putting the democratic process in jeopardy and setting at nought the sacrifices made by everyone to oust the Mubarak regime. But the boot is not on the other foot. The NSF, unhappy at the president pushing through a mild Islamic constitution, and fearful that the Muslim Brotherhood will be returned to the new parliament with a clear majority this time, are themselves seeking to disrupt the democratic process that they claim to value so highly. The danger is all too clear. If the NSF do not take part in the April vote, then the result is a foregone conclusion. Equally predictable will be opposition protests that the Muslim Brotherhood government that will be formed lacks a genuine mandate to rule. This will move what should be have been a political confrontation fought out at the ballot box back onto the streets. The continuing public disorder will undermine Morsi's efforts to restore Egypt's failing finances and put the economy back on its feet. More crucially it will build the case for renewed military intervention on the plausible grounds that the security of the Egyptian state is in clear and present danger. That intervention, as and when it comes, will probably be framed in such a way that the generals will claim to be protecting the presidency. Morsi will then face the choice of staying in post as an effective prisoner of the military or resigning and leaving the way open for dubious new elections that could put another top commander back in the presidency. It has to be suspected that within the NSF there are dark forces aiming for just this outcome. However, it still does not have to be this way. Those opposition leaders who genuinely want democracy must address the issues that they have with Morsi in political terms alone. Extensive international monitoring of the April polls ought to guarantee that there will be little or no vote-rigging. It is the nature of democracy that one political view will come to dominate another during the life of a parliament. At fresh elections, voters may make a different choice.That is the way it works and the NSF leaders do themselves no credit by pretending otherwise.
