Egyptian embassy, Tunis.

Thanks Samar S. Mezghanni for the photo!

It’s not that I like him. I hate the living hell out of him. Why did I vote? I hate Shafiq more and I think he is a bigger threat to the nation.

As I wrote earlier this week regarding boycotting the elections– forgive me for quoting myself –

Tempting as this option may sound (and I have struggled long with it myself), it amounts to ceding the choice of our next president to others — a solution acceptable only if there is reason to assume that the voting process is flawless and that the median voter is capable of making choices impartially. But the median voter can be manipulated. This is not an inherently Egyptian problem, but a common global and historical one. One candidate’s camp makes promises of “security” and “stability” (code for the status quo) to those fearing change, while the other deploys God-coated slogans and micro-bribes in the form of food handouts. We’ve already seen that voters here in Egypt are extremely susceptible to these sorts of blandishments. Sitting on the sidelines is therefore not only an abdication of our right to choose, but a gift to the worst candidate.

I plan to vote — for the candidate who is a little less bad.