The first day of Egypt's elections yesterday appears to have gone remarkably smoothly, with some caveats. The voting will continue for several months, as explained in this neat Al-Jazeera infographic. Tony Karon thinks the biggest winners are likely to be the Islamists:
[W]hile the Muslim Brotherhood may have lost support on the Square as a result of its reaction to last week's protests, the likelihood is that it more than made up for that in the support of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Egyptians lining up to vote. And the Islamists appear to understand that it is the political movement capable of rallying and organizing the strongest mass support that will carry the day in a post-Mubarak politics. That's a lesson many of those still holding Tahrir Square may yet learn at their own expense.
Ashraf Khalil looks at five possible worst-case outcomes for the country. Steven Cook cautions against drawing sweeping conclusions about Egypt's future just yet. Robert Satloff wants America to shepherd the process:
[H[aving taken the dramatic step last week of endorsing a position advocated by Islamist parties, the administration has the standing to speak to Egyptian voters this week and throughout the multiple rounds of voting. The idea is not to endorse or warn against specific parties; rather, it is to lay out for voters in a sober, realistic way the implications of their choices in terms of international credibility and investor confidence. Given the stakes involved — especially the health of Egypt's democratic institutions, the durability of its new political order, and the vitality of its economy, about which President Obama spoke so appropriately in February — both Egypt's transition and U.S. interests deserve no less.
(Photo: A woman places her vote in a ballot box at a polling station in a girls school on November 28, 2011 in Downtown Cairo, Egypt. Eleven months after the fall of Hosni Mubarak 45 million Egyptians are voting in the first round of six for it's upper and lower houses of parliament. The complicated process will take four months to conclude. Presidential elections are expected to be held in 2012. By Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
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