In what I can only describe as a tragic blow to the glorious political upheaval of the Arab spring, military strongman Abel Fattah el Si-Si was declared the winner of the Egyptian elections with 96, yes you read that right 96% of the vote. His only opponent in the race, Hamdeen Sabahy only received about 4% of the vote. Ironically celebrations occurred in the famed Tahrir square, which once was the birthplace for the movement that ousted another military strongman Hosni Mubarak on the results of the election. It is a good thing these celebrations were not protests, since the new government has made protesting a crime publishable by jail time.

Sisi’s election is a dangerous blight on democracy in North Africa and The Middle East. With blatant poll rigging, upwards of 40,000 political prisoners, and a host of corrupt courts, Sisi is only bringing back an establishment more corrupt than before. On the guise of protecting Egyptian, swarms of innocent people have been thrown in jail, whether they be innocent members of The Muslim Brotherhood, or secular individuals outright opposed to more authoritarian rule in Egypt. I can’t articulate the sorrow I feel for those who have truly tried to make Egypt a better place. To see the systematic destruction of a movement under the guise of protection is a horrific. The true heroes of this movement are the ones suffering in prisons across the country simply for wanting a better future.

I understand that this is an incredibly nuanced issue, and perhaps I am jumping to conclusions. I know that the threat of a militant Islam is a very real one, but I don’t believe the answer to that is from an Authoritarian regime. In fact I think it is precisely in these authoritarian nightmares that fundamentalists groups can take root, eager to suck disillusioned youths in to violent extremism when they have no where else to turn. But if there is one thing that I can say with a staunch credibility is that the tired maxim absolute power corrupts absolutely applies to Sisi. Take note of that Sisi, before your “subjects” tell you in other ways…