Egypt: But who now speaks for citizens? (analysis)

In the aftermath of Egypt's recent uprising, which led to the ouster earlier this month of longstanding president Hosni Mubarak, a number of groups have emerged under the banner of what has come to be known as the 25 January Revolution.

The sudden proliferation of these movements has raised the contentious question: who now speaks for the Egyptian people?
"No single political trend can claim to speak on behalf of the revolution," Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mohamed Saad Kitatni said on February 18, in the first-ever appearance by the group (which was officially banned under the Mubarak regime) on Egyptian state television. "All segments of the Egyptian public participated in the uprising, and it was this broad-based participation that ensured its success."

In the absence of parliamentary representation and a working national charter, meanwhile, several groups - most of them youth-oriented - have stepped up to fill the political void. The most widely recognised of these is the 25 January Youth Coalition, formally established on the first day of the uprising.

The coalition is comprised of several political youth movements, including Freedom and Justice, 6 April, the Youth Campaign for Mohamed ElBaradei, and Young People for Change. It also includes the youth wings of several opposition groups and parties, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Karama Party, the Wafd Party, the Ghad Party, the Tagammu Party and the Democratic Front Party.

"Legitimate authority does not derive from (Egypt's) 1971 constitution," the coalition declared in a statement issued shortly after Mubarak's ouster. "Legitimate authority now derives from the 25 January Revolution."

For more: Egypt: But who now speaks for citizens? (analysis) - Norwegian Council for Africa