Source: Bloomberg
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s announcement that he will not seek re-election in September’s upcoming presidential elections has done nothing to calm the tumult in Egypt. Speaking to Bloomberg, Carnegie’s Marina Ottaway asserted that the protesters will not be sated until Mubarak resigns.
If Mubarak does resign, she cited two possible scenarios: first, that Vice President Omar Sulieman will lead an interim government or, second, that there will be some type of transitional government or committee that will guide the country until elections. Ottaway said that the protesters greatly prefer the second option. Mubarak’s continued leadership is untenable because “the protesters do not believe that a government under his supervision will implement the necessary reforms to allow for free and fair elections,” she stated.