Egypt's trajectory to democracy The need is to consolidate first

In what must be a most historic event Mohamed Morsi has been declared elected president of Egypt. In fact he is truly the first democratically elected president of the country, filling a vacuum left by the ouster of Hosni Mubarrak. Morsi defeated former general Ahmed Shafik in a run-off last weekend by taking 51.7 percent of the total 52 percent of votes cast.
The turnout was low and the margin of his victory slightly above 1 percent. Given such a mandate, reconciliation would be the golden path for him. It is good to see the vanquished take the defeat in good grace and even offer to serve under the newly elected President.
We congratulate the new President, leader of the Islamic Brotherhood, which has struggled for more than three decades to come to this level of public acceptance. We are sure that he is aware of the challenges that face him and his country. It is important that a fractured nation is given the time to recover and heal from the wounds suffered not only during the long years of autocratic rule but also during the period before the overthrow of Mubarrak and nearly one year and a half of political unrest after that.
Surely the first task ahead of President Morsi would be to consolidate the gains, first by rallying a disparate nation and then to accommodate the aspirations of all the people, even those that do not conform to his political philosophy. An inclusive state policy that allows for a holistic development of the country is what the new government of President Morsi should strive for not forgetting his commitment to work with all the political parties if elected.
Also, the world is waiting to see how the equation between the president and the military council is worked out. There will be need to compromise and one would hope that the military will see the wisdom in having an unfettered democracy which, given the power that have been arrogated to itself by the council, seems rather challenging. It will be interesting to see how the new president accommodates the public demand for the military to go.
While there are challenges, this must be a good opportunity for Morsi to ensure that the anxiety of those who see the victory of the Islamist party with trepidation are proved wrong by bringing about a liberal, moderate and tolerant society which can be an example to other countries in the region. The onus is now as much on the new president to deliver as it is on the army.