On the eve of first anniversary of the start of the revolution, a mixture of fear and hope seems to tug at the hearts and souls of the Egyptian people.

Two days after the formation of the new Egyptian parliament headed by Saad al-Katatni of the Muslim Brotherhood (elected by 399 votes out of possibly 508 deputies), all are agreed that this January 25, 2011 will be an important anniversary - without, however, being able to predict what the future holds.

So far, the shift of power following the popular uprising – unprecedented in Egyptian history - has failed to keep its promises and many things need to happen before the definitive end of the Mubarak era – don’t forget that the deposed dictator handed over the reins of state to a transitional military government headed by Marshal Tantawi, a former defense minister and commander of the Egyptian armed forces from 1991 to 2011. These last twelve months he has lived up to his nickname of “Mr Torture”, acquired under the old regime (the bloody supression of Maspero, the repression of the uprisings in Mohammed Mahmoud Street in November, indifference to the wounded and families of revolutionary martyrs, arbitrary arrests, censorship, the trial of civilians by military courts ...), while demonstrations - mostly demanding that the AFSC transfers power to the people - can be seen in all of Egypt’s public spaces.

These first free elections, however, have ignited a lot of hope among the Egyptians, following the declarations of the first civilian assembly, and could be a sign of an end to the conflict.

However, the question remains: what real power does this new parliamentary assembly actually have? Numerous small political parties have taken the place of the former NDP (Mubarak’s National Democratic Party): what if they try to spoil the revolutionaries’ celebrations, by causing clashes in the country?

History is being made, even as I write...

Photo & Report by Gaël Favari for The Global Journal

(Photo © Gaël Favari / The Global Journal)