Several members of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and army leaders paid surprise visits to polling stations across the country to follow up on the polling process and to encourage people to participate in the election.
Army General Sami Diab visited polling stations in Beheira, General Kamel al-Waziri went to Daqahlia, General Adel Emara went to Assiut, General Mohsen al-Fangari went to Damietta, General Naguib Shebl went to Port Said, General Sameh Sadeq went to Alexandria, General Mamdouh Abdel Haq went to South Sinai and General Ismail Etman to Monufiya and General Hamdy Badeen went to Zamalek in Cairo.
The SCAF has been in power since former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising a year and half ago. The generals were hailed in the beginning as neutral and patriotic forces that saved the revolution. They were portrayed as the ones who refused to shoot protesters.
But following a messy and bloody transitional period, revolutionary forces have condemned the SCAF for the chaos and the continuing human rights violations. Many have also voiced concerns that the army will not hand over power to a civilian president.
During his visit to Monufiya, Etman reiterated the military rulers’ commitment to be neutral towards all candidates.
“We are not biased toward anyone at the expense of another,” he told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
In their visit to polling stations, a delegation from the US Congress praised the voter turnout.
The delegation was headed by US Senator David Dreier, who heads the Democratic Participation Committee in Congress, and Senator Jane Herman, head of the Wilson Center.
While meeting with a number of reporters outside the Mulhaqet al-Mualimeen School in Dokki, Dreier said the SCAF wishes to return to their barracks and to hand over power to an elected civilian government so it can deal with national security affairs.
Dreier said he asked SCAF head Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi some time ago when he would hand over power, and that Tantawi answered by saying he wanted to deliver it yesterday.
Moreover, the administrator of the SCAF's Facebook page has reiterated the military rulers’ commitment to transferring power to the elected president. He added that all political powers should accept the results of the election.
But many Egyptians believe that even after returning to their barracks, army generals will still have an influential role.
Some speculate that the generals will attempt to secure political and economic immunity within the new political system, especially as a civilian authority emerges.
Mubarak, a former air force chief, had full control over military appointments and dismissals, as well as the defense budget.
