By all appearances, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood political alliance are in firm control of the country after the second phase of voting on a referendum for the new constitution.
Unfortunately, the means by which Mr Morsi has cemented his hold on power surely has the majority of those who risked life and limb in Cairo's Tahrir Square to take out the old repressive regime of Hosni Mubarak shaking their heads in despair.
Though elected in a free and fair poll in June this year promising the Egyptian people a new day of democracy, Mr Morsi's methods thus far have closely resembled those of the old regime. In late November, Mr Morsi issued a decree granting himself extraordinary powers that he said were necessary to dismantle Mubarak's corrupt system and speed up the transition to democracy.
The decree was met with widespread opposition and tens of thousands of demonstrators, both pro- and anti-Morsi, took to the streets in early December.
A number of anti-Morsi protesters were injured when the president's supporters broke up a sit-in around the presidential palace on Dec 5. The violence brought in more anti-Morsi protesters and resulting clashes left 10 dead and around 700 injured. Many of the anti-Morsi protesters were detained, and some accused the Muslim Brotherhood of beating them. One of these was a former Egyptian diplomat, Yehia Negm, who bore bruises on his face to back up his claims.
The decree was rescinded, but then a snap referendum was called on the new constitution. Again the anti-Morsi forces cried foul, as, they said, the 100-member constituent assembly which is drafting the constitution was packed with Islamists and ultra-conservatives who ignored other groups' concerns. More than 30 members of the panel, including secularists, Coptic Christians, liberals and journalists, quit in protest, but the remainder held an all-night session on Nov 29 and approved the 63-page document which critics say has vague language and fear could pave the way for a system based at least partially on Sharia law.
Even some prominent Islamist lawyers criticised the proposed charter and judges who normally oversee polling stations decided to boycott the process.
Nevertheless, the first phase of voting on the referendum went ahead last weekend, with Mr Morsi issuing a new decree giving the armed forces the power to arrest civilians until the announcement of the results of the referendum. The first phase covered 10 of Egypt's 27 governorates, including Cairo and Alexandria, with the vote in favour said to be 56%. Voters in Cairo, however, rejected the new charter.
The remaining predominantly Islamist governorates voted yesterday and almost surely have passed the referendum, although the result may not be made official before Monday. So now it remains to be seen if Mr Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood will steer the country sharply in an anti-secular direction as is feared by the opposition, and frankly, by much of the world. The prospect of another fundamentalist regime in the volatile neighbourhood is not a pleasant one. It seems likely that Mr Morsi is much too astute to willingly back his country into the same kind of isolationist corner that Iran is in. Mr Morsi has promised that Egypt will abide by its peace treaty with Israel, and there are high hopes in Washington and other capitals that Egypt will keep to a fairly moderate path. That may not be possible, however, if hard-core religionists are allowed to take over the reins of government.
The founding fathers in America got it right when they sought to set up a system that keeps religion out of government as much as possible, and pretty much every democracy since has followed that lead. The biggest losers if Egypt continues on its anti-secular path will be the Egyptian people, whatever their religion. As indicated by the recent protests and the voting on the referendum, 40% or more of the population are adamantly opposed to an Islamist-led government, and fully 10% are Christian. If efforts aren't made now to ensure that Egyptian society is open and inclusive, the country may be in for a long rocky ride.