The road to Egypt’s presidential election, held on May 23-24, was a long and tortuous one, but it was a great leap forward. Egyptians finally, and following three elections in one year, were able to freely voice their opinion and decide their future, with many considering it the fruitful result of the January 25 revolution.

… a stepping stone to pave the way for future generations- Abdelmawgoud Elhabashy

The presidential election, and the first round result, is considered to be the most exciting in Egypt’s history, in the light of several factors. Firstly, the two contenders in the second and final round of the election, to be held on Saturday and Sunday (Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy and independent candidate General Ahmed Shafiq) who topped the poll are not the two candidates that many Egyptians, particularly those who took an active part in the revolution, had been eagerly waiting for. However, no one has challenged the results as the whole election process was fair and transparent, according to local and foreign observers.

Furthermore, the narrow difference in the percentages obtained by both contenders meant there was no clear winner and this in turn will oblige them to seek the support of other political forces, and to demonstrate their willingness to offer concessions to gain an advantage over the other. Such concessions will oblige both candidates – the Islamist and the army man – to modify their radical platforms and shift them to one geared towards a civil state fulfilling the goals of the January 25 revolution.

In fact, both candidates have already begun negotiations with other political forces and have been sounding out eminent political figures, as they realised they are unable to fight the coming battle alone.

Moreover, the first round results have shown that even though the official Muslim Brotherhood candidate topped the poll, the 24.767 per cent of votes he obtained are just over one-half of the 47.1 per cent the party won in the parliamentary elections held in January. Indeed the Brotherhood failed to come out on top in their traditional strongholds such as the Nile Delta, Cairo and Alexandria. This relatively poor performance can be interpreted to mean that voters are disappointed by the Islamists’ mediocre performance in parliament.

Besides, General Shafiq’s success in reaching the runoff came as a surprise to many. There are various reasons for his success. The crisis of the headless revolution of January 25, which saw many divisions among those who led the revolution, and the rift between them and Islamists, pushed many to vote for a man they hope would restore law and order. In addition, General Shafiq garnered more votes from what we, in Egypt, call the “sofa” party or the silent majority, those who do not actively participate in politics. Furthermore, his campaign largely focused on the need to restore security in Egypt’s turbulent cities.

While the result of the first round shocked many Egyptians and polarised them - between those who fear the Islamists, and their efforts to monopolise power and ruling institutions, and the threat they pose to a civil state, and those who refuse to hand over the presidency to a representative of the former regime, at the same time it produced an emerging politician – the “new Nasserite” Hamdin Sabahy’, who won over 21 per cent of the vote.

Although he did not make it to the second round, Mr Sabahy managed to convince voters that there is a third way, apart from Islamism or a return to the old regime. Many analysts are predicting that this alternative will gather strength in time, especially as the majority of his supporters are young people – the grassroots of the January 25 revolution.

In these elections, Egyptians are the real winners – for the first time in 5,000 years, they experienced a free, fair and genuine presidential election, complete with such unprecedented features as: Televised debates between the main contenders; a heightened political awareness and increased civic engagement; and politics is now debated in every family, poor, middle class, and wealthy.

Regardless of the different opinions and thoughts expressed on the result of the first round and the road which Egypt’s political future will take after the second round, the presidential election day will go down in history as Egypt’s first truly democratic experience.

It is a step ahead towards gaining more experience and awareness of the process and the mistakes committed, to be worked upon and improved in the future.

The result may not be perfect, but Egyptians will have the chance, every four years, to choose a new president, and the accumulated experience will surely count. We will, at some point in time, get it right and what matters now is that we got it started.

I can safely say that we have set a stepping stone to pave the way for future generations.

Mr Elhabashy is the Ambassador of Egypt accredited to Malta.