Mubarak Exit Appears Imminent

The fate of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak will be known in a matter of hours, and indications are growing, amid a swirl of contradictory reports, that he will stand down Thursday night. If so, it's unclear whether he'll had authority to Vice President Omar Suleiman, or directly to the armed forces. A government source told TIME on Thursday that Mubarak has, in fact, already handed power to the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, and that it remained unclear whether Suleiman would be installed as president.

Reaction has been mixed among the Tahrir Square demonstrators to news reports that Mubarak was about to go and that the military was taking charge. Abubakr Makhlouf, a 33-year-old entrepreneur was thrilled: ""We trust the military, we think there will be a fair transition so that the rest of the world does not have worry about crazy things happening," he said as he headed for the square to share in the excitement of President Mubarak's expected announcement. "We thought it would take a lot more time. And we never thought it would be as smooth as this." (See TIME's photogallery "Mass Demonstrations in Egypt.")

But 34-year-old activist Ahmed Shahawi said there was deep anxiety over the prospect of the military taking charge. "I am between being afraid and being happy," Ahmed said Thursday evening. "This is not what we wanted; we want a democratic, civilian government. We don't want another military ruler... We are not fighting because we hate Mubarak, we are fighting because we hate the regime itself." (See TIME's Exclusive Photos: Turmoil in Egypt)

Mohammed Zaud, a 25-year-old accountant seemed to capture the ambiguity as he stood on Tahrir Square: "If Mubarak falls tonight, we'll celebrate, we'll sing, we'll dance and then we'll go home," he said. But moments later, he corrected himself: "We will not go home until we see the new government, and then if we like it then we'll go home."

But whether Zaud and his peers will like the political arrangements left behind by a departing Mubarak is far from clear. NBC news broke the story that Mubarak would yield to the primary demand of the 17-day popular uprising by standing down, and that news was reinforced by wire reports that CIA director Leon Panetta had said there were "strong indications" that Mubarak would go. Earlier, Reuters had reported that an army commander at Tahrir Square, Cairo's ground zero of protest against the regime, had told the crowd there that "all their demands would be met." And the military, rather than Vice President Omar Suleiman, may be poised to take charge.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces met Thursday and issued what it called "Communique #1" on the crisis, vowing to "safeguard the people and protect their interests, security and safety", and approving of the "legitimate demands of the people". The "Communique #1" rubric is commonplace in military coups, when the armed forces take charge of matters of state and begin communicating directly with the citizenry, independently of any civilian leadership. But TIME's government source insisted that "it's not a military coup, since it's happening peacefully. The president is designating power to the Council." Whether or not it's called a coup, however, is less important than the fact that such a development would leave the military leadership in charge.

While Mubarak's resignation would mark a dramatic victory for the protest movement that has continued to grow over the past two weeks, it leaves unanswered the question of power — and the democracy that the demonstrators have been demanding. The military's statement is ambiguous, in that it doesn't define the "interests of the people." And if the regime was looking to get the protest movement off the street without resorting to mass bloodshed, removing Mubarak from the scene had become an inescapable step: After 17 days, the protest movement had, in fact, appeared to be growing, with labor strikes adding muscle to those demonstrating on city streets. But while Mubarak's removal from office is a profound symbolic change, it doesn't necessarily signal the ouster of his regime.

The military, or others who remain in power, are likely to push now for an end to the demonstrations and a restoration of normalcy. But even with Mubarak gone, a military junta or a Suleiman-managed transition won't satisfy the basic demands of all of those who have been on the streets for the past 17 days. Even if Mubarak goes tonight, Egypt's immediate political future remains unclear — and in all likelihood, fiercely contested.