Khairat Al-Shater, could he be the next President of Egypt ?

By Helena Alves
 April 4, 2012
The Majalla Magazine

In an official statement on Saturday, the Muslim Brotherhood announced it had reversed its decision not to nominate a presidential candidate. The news caught many by surprise. The chosen one was Khairat Al-Shater, the group’s key financier. The 61-year-old will be a candidate in the first presidential election in the country since the uprising that led to Hosni Mubarak’s resignation and his handing over of power to the army in February 2011.

Al-Shater was in prison during the revolution and was released shortly afterwards. In the past, Al-Shater has paid a high price for political activism. Originally a leftist, he was first jailed as an engineering student at Alexandria University when he joined anti-government protests. In 2006 he was accused of supplying students with weapons, was arrested along with other senior members, and jailed in 2007 by a military court. In 2006 he was accused of supplying students with weapons, was arrested along with other senior members, and jailed in 2007 by a military court.

In December 2011, Foreign Policy magazine named Al-Shater as a one of its “Top 100 Global Thinkers”. From being a political prisoner to a frontrunner in Egypt’s presidential race as the Muslim Brotherhood’s chosen candidate, Al-Shater has come a long way. Born on May 4, 1950, in the Nile Delta province of Daqahliya, he earned an engineering degree from Alexandria University and a master’s in engineering from Mansura University. After spending years as a student activist, in 1981 he decided to join the Muslim Brotherhood.

As one of the group’s three deputy leaders, Al-Shater has played a strategic role and is said to have been involved in negotiations with the military council. In recent months, the millionaire businessman developed the Brotherhood’s economic policy and met the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team that is negotiating a $3.2bn loan facility with the government.

Al-Shater is seen as a moderate Islamist, praising its commitment to democracy, the rights of religious minorities and a free market. However the rise of the Islamists raises some issues. The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest Egyptian party in the new parliament and has an extensive network of supporters across Egypt. Thus, huge support is to be expected when the first round of presidential voting takes place in May. Islamists already control the majority of seats in the parliament and the Constitutional Assembly. If Al-Shater wins the presidency, the Brotherhood would be in control of all four pillars of Egypt’s polity.As one of the group’s three deputy leaders, Al-Shater has played a strategic role.

The Shura council of the Brotherhood voted in favor of al-Shater by a margin of few votes, 56 voting in favor and 52 against his nomination. Clearly, it was not a unanimous decision and within 24 hours of the announcement, three leading members left the group, and criticized the party’s decision.

Marwan Bishara, senior political analyst at Al Jazeera stated in an opinion piece: “Brotherhood leaders argue their decision came as a result of the public’s desire and popular pressure for them to run. Besides, what’s so un-revolutionary about a former Mubarak prisoner becoming his successor?” For Bishara, the reasons are much more complex and lie within a strategy. “The Brotherhood fears that if it doesn’t field its own candidate, the rival Salafist An-Nour party and its contender, Hazem Salah Abu Islamiel, could win the elections.”

For Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy, “The nomination of Shater seems to have been a response to threats and opportunities in a rapidly changing political arena, rather than the hatching of a long-term plan. But many Egyptians would disagree, seeing it instead as the culmination of a long-hatching conspiracy with the SCAF. I think it will reveal itself to be a strategic blunder which has placed the Brotherhood in a no-win situation.”

The world will be looking at Egypt next May, as Egyptians have their say. Ian Black from The Guardian stated “Given Egypt’s size and importance, the presidential race in May and June could be a defining event with far wider resonance than last October’s Tunisian election, which saw an overwhelming victory for once-banned Islamists”.