Egyptians go to the polls next Wednesday, May 23, in the first competitive presidential elections in the country's modern history. The front-runners include two former officials from the era of deposed president Hosni Mubarak and two Islamist candidates.At stake, says a Duke political scientist, is the place of Islamic Law in political life; the role, economic interests, and immunity of the military; and the very nature of a post-Mubarak political regime with no definitive constitution in place.Abdeslam MaghraouiAssociate professor of the practice, political science, Duke University Core faculty member, Duke Islamic Studies Centerhttp://polisci.duke.edu/people?subpage=profile&Gurl=%2Faas%2FPoliticalSc...'s research and teaching address key political questions facing contemporary states and societies in the Middle East and North Africa. He is author of "Liberalism without Democracy: Nationhood and Citizenship in Egypt, 1922-1939” (Duke University Press, 2006), and a series of publications on the challenge of democratization in the Maghreb. Quote:"Even though the presidential elections seem to be proceeding, there are profound and unresolved disagreements among the Muslim Brotherhood, the military and the secular, liberal opposition."Three major issues divide them: the place of Islamic law in political life; the role, economic interests and immunity of the military; and the nature of the political regime. The Muslim Brotherhood wants a more prominent role for Islamic law. The military wants to safeguard its privileges and protect its high officers from possible prosecutions. And the liberals want a presidential system where the president enjoys some independence from a parliament controlled by one faction."The presidential elections will take place under a very ambiguous, if not chaotic, institutional arrangement. There is still no definitive constitution."
