On Mubarak's Trial, Presidential Elections, and the Return to Tahrir: An Interview with Sharif Abdel Kouddous

[Tahrir protests on 2 June 2012. Banner reads: \"Down, Down with Military Rule.\" Image by Gigi Ibrahim / Flickr] [Tahrir protests on 2 June 2012. Banner reads: \"Down, Down with Military Rule.\" Image by Gigi Ibrahim / Flickr]

On Mubarak's Trial, Presidential Elections, and the Return to Tahrir: An Interview with Sharif Abdel Kouddous

By : Ziad Abu-Rish زياد ابوالريش

In the following interview Egyptian journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous discusses developments in Egypt in the wake of last Saturday`s verdict in the Mubarak trial. The interview begins with an overview of the verdict, the legal process that led up to it, and the erruption of protests in its aftermath. It then tackles the broader context within which the trial and verdict unfolded: the struggle to define the scope of revolution in Egypt. Sharif discusses the (re)emergence of Ahmad Shafiq (Mubarak`s last prime minister and retiured air force general) in the context of the presidential elections and what this represents about the these elections as opposed to the parliamentary elections. Also addressed is the position of the Muslim Brotherhood vis-a-vis the Mubarak verdict, the presidential elections, and its changing strategic position since the parliamentary elections. In discussing this broader context, Sharif highlights the importance of the coming two weeks, which will feature a constitutional court ruling on the Political Isolation Law as well as another one on the Parliamentary Elections Law. Both rulings have the potential to either consolidate the existing political dynamics or radically alter them. Towards the end of the interview, Sharif discusses the proposed presidential council, noting its origins, viability, and reactions to it, as well as the status of the constitutional assembly.


 

  • ALSO BY THIS AUTHOR

    • تقرير أولي من بيروت: انفجار المرفأ وأصداؤه

      تقرير أولي من بيروت: انفجار المرفأ وأصداؤه

      لم تتضح بعد طبيعة الانفجار الذي حصل يوم الثلاثاء في مرفأ بيروت ومدى الأضرار التي سببها في أنحاء المدينة. هناك العديد من التقارير غير المؤكدة ومن الصعب اعتماد التصريحات الرسمية بسبب افتقارها للشفافية.

    • Preliminary Report from Beirut: Port Explosion and Its Reverberations

      Preliminary Report from Beirut: Port Explosion and Its Reverberations

      The nature of Tuesday’s explosion in the port of Beirut and the extent of the damage across the city and beyond is not yet clear. There are plenty of unconfirmed reports and it is hard to take official statements as transparent. That being said, the effects of the explosion were felt across the city and beyond.

    • Municipal Politics in Lebanon

      Municipal Politics in Lebanon
      The municipal system has been a key pillar of debates on administrative decentralization, economic development and political participation in Lebanon. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, activists

Russia TV Interview with Jadaliyya Co-Editor on Palestine, Obama, and AIPAC

This is a Russia TV interview with Jadaliyya Co-Edtor Noura Erakat  that aired on  Tuesday May 24, 2011. In it, Noura discusses developments surrounding the Question of Palestine, with particular emphasis on the role of U.S. foriegn policy and Barack Obama`s recent speech at the AIPAC Summitt.