Mohamed Morsi Is Egypt's New President!

On Sunday afternoon, 24 June, the Election Commission announced the winner of the presidential election. Mohamed Morsi had captured nearly 52 percent of the votes. Supporters in Tahrir Square celebrated through the night and were still celebrating the following morning!

Egypt now has the first (mostly) freely and fairly elected president in its entire millennia-long history!

Morsi has been sworn into office and moved into the Presidential offices formerly occupied by Hosni Mubarak. He announced to the world and all Egyptians "I will be president for all Egyptians, those inside the country and abroad. The people are the source of all powers, and it's time for unity to rebuild our country and achieve the goals of the revolution," he said. "Together, Egyptians will create a better and bright future for this nation."

He has given an order not to hang his portraits at any government ministry or institution. "The new president prefers that Egypt be a symbol, and not the president, as people are mortals while Egypt will remain," spokesperson El-Afdal said in a small press conference held at the presidential residence in Oroba Palace in Cairo soon after the results were announced.

A key message of his inaugural speech, delivered in Tahrir Square, was his commitment to work for the development of a "civil, constitutional and modern state." He has assured liberals and secular Egyptians that he is not planning, for now, to impose any strict Islamic rulings on society. No particular dress code would be imposed on the Muslim women of Egypt and he reassured the Coptic Christian community that he is the president for all Egyptians, Muslims and Christians alike.

Egypt still has plenty of challenges ahead. While the SCAF, the military council, has formally turned over power to the president, the relationship between the military and the president remains to be defined.

Egypt needs to comply with the recent court rulings to hold new parliamentary elections to replace those members of the People's Assembly who were found to have been elected illegally. This ruling enabled SCAF to assume legislative authority.

The challenge of selecting the members of the Constitutional Assembly who will draft the new constitution must be faced with all speed.

Most importantly, the dire situation of the economy must to addressed as rapidly as possible. The revolution disrupted the economy, resulting in a very low growth rate. International tourism and foreign direct investments have shrunk. Unemployment, poverty, inequality, a gaping budget deficit and fuel shortages are among the problems to be solved.

Yet, considering all this, we believe that Egyptians will find a way to reorder their government and society in accordance with laws prescribed by Islam while respecting the wishes of the majority of the Egyptian people through democratic processes. We believe that Egypt has now embarked on a quest to find the way to combine democracy and Islam and the world should support them in this.