Last night Mr. Mubarak announced that he would not step down and would never leave Egypt. His plan was to follow the constitution (which would be a first) and relinquish power in September 2011 at the next elections. But the people and some in the military were not buying into this plan and they made it clear when they marched to the Palace and made their voices heard. Hosni Mubarak left Egypt early this morning handing over power to the military.
The protests were all over Egypt - not just in Cairo - and by yesterday it seemed all peoples were on the streets. The doctors came out in their white coats, the trade unions had their workers join in and even the military stood with the people. There was no way Mr. Mubarak could win this battle - even the Western powers could not in good faith side with him - it would have been too embarrassing to show overt support of their autocrat friend and ally.
Mr. Omar Suleiman missed an opportunity to be a hero and lead the nation by standing with the people and persuading his buddy to step down. Instead he shows to dance to Mr. Mubarak's tune forgetting that power lies with the masses and not a single man.
Unlike in Ivory Coast where the military is still loyal and serving the recently defeated Laurent Gbago, Egypt's military understood and sympathized with the people. They now hold the reigns of power until the democratic elections take place later this year.
Mr. Mubarak was among the last few remaining dictators in Africa. Who is next? Bashir of Sudan?
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