Beyond Tahrir Square

Espen Rasmussen

Nine months after the spectacular events in Egypt that brought the three-decade long regime of Hosni Mubarak to an end, Egyptians have finally been given a date - 28 November - when elections will begin~~After 3 decades of sham elections which saw Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak re-elected on four occasions with ludicrously large majorities, the country is now entering a new era with an eagerly awaited election that is to start on 28 November. ~~The relatively short revolution which brought down a regime that had clung onto power so tenaciously by means of bribery, corruption and brute force for three decades was driven and sustained to a large extent by tens of thousands of young protesters who organised and coordinated the protest movement through internet forums, facebook and twitter. Now it is this generation of people who are most impatiently waiting to express their democratic voice for the first time in their lives.

Since Mubarak's resignation in February, protest groups have kept up the pressure on Egypt's new rulers, the country's ageing military establishment, to chart a course for elections and a new constitution. The despised "Emergency Law", a decree which has been in place for over 50 years giving the government sweeping powers to suppress dissent and crush free expression, was one of the most emotive causes of the early revolution. In a sign of intransigence characteristic of the old regime, Egypt's military rulers decided in September to merely amend a number of articles of the law and add a few new ones instead of striking it off the statute book for good.~~Under pressure once more from growing and often violent street clashes between protesters and the security forces, the interim government finally decided to announce a date for a laborious and drawn out election process to begin. Over a period of almost two months, Egyptians will be asked to vote in parliamentary election for the two chambers of parliament in three stages. A new constitution will then be drafted which will need to be approved through a referendum. The election of a new president could be delayed until 2013.~~Espen Rasmussen walked the streets of Cairo, looking for the painted traces of the revolution and talking to regular people about their hopes and aspirations.

 

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      EGYPT

      Members from the April 6 Movement participate in a...

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      EGYPT

      A portrait of 25 year old Hind Dorrah, member of the...

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      EGYPT

      Graffiti on a wallr reads 'The awakening of the...

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      A portrait of 25 year old Omnia Abdallah, member of...

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      EGYPT

      Graffiti on a wall reads 'Fall, fall, the rule of the...

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      EGYPT

      A portrait of 19 year old Mo'men Bahgat, member of...

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      A graffiti image on a wall of Khaled Said, the...

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      A portrait of 33 year old Doaa Boshray, member of the...

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      A graffiti portrait of Mubarak, showing him with...

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      A portrait of 30 year old Ahmed Maher who took the...

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      EGYPT

      Graffiti on a wall reads 'Whether you wear a suit or...

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      A portrait of 36 year old Amal Sharaf, member of the...

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      Graffiti on a wall reads 'Who is protecting the...

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      A portrait of 22 year old Ahmed Abd Rabo, member of...

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      Graffiti on a wall reads 'The revolutionaries are not...

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      A portrait of 29 year old Alia Shabrawy, member of...

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      EGYPT

      Graffiti on a wall reads 'Dancing on the tunes of the...

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      EGYPT

      A portrait of 22 year old Rammy Elswissy, member of...

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      EGYPT

      Graffiti on a wall reads 'The end.'

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      A portrait of 27 year old Amr Ali, member of the...

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      Graffiti on a wall reads 'Facebook - we will...

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      A Friday demonstration on Tahrir Square. Several...

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      EGYPT

      Graffiti on a wall reads 'Full military rule. Only...

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      EGYPT

      Young people practice kickboxing in a basement in...

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      EGYPT

      Students relax in the River Nile after their first...

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      EGYPT

      A woman pays a taxi driver in central Cairo.

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      EGYPT

      36 year old Amal Sharaf (in middle holding flag), and...

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      EGYPT

      A tree in central Cairo painted in the Egyptian...

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      A portrait of 31 year old Ahmed Abd Allah Elsheikh,...

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      A young man hangs about on the Nile Riverside in...

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      EGYPT

      A man sells sunglasses at a street market in central...

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      EGYPT

      Young people dance at a disco on a boat travelling...

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      Facebook graffited onto a wall in central Cairo with...

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      EGYPT

      Alia Shabrawy plays drums for the rock band Jailhouse...

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      A taxi driver waits in traffic near Tahrir Square.

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