election-related violence already underway

Shafik’s headquarters was set on fire, and thugs attacked Tahrir protestors who oppose his presence in the runoff. HERE. For a larger piece on the headquarters burning, just go to the front page of the NY Times.

There may have been some fraud in the first round, but I’m not sure why people doubt that Shafik was actually one of the top two vote recipients. There are obviously a ton of people in Egypt who do want Shafik, as a bulwark against instability; I don’t see that fraud would be necessary to establish that fact at the polls.

The fact is, the Egyptian public is heavily polarized at the moment, and that’s why we saw two fairly awful candidates advance to the runoff.