Egyptians Vote on New Constitution in Referendum

[Valin]

NY Times

DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

JAN. 14, 2014

 

CAIRO Egyptians trundled to the polls on Tuesday for the third referendum in three years to approve a new constitution, this time to validate the military ouster of their first fairly elected president, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

The level of turnout will be the most closely watched measure of success for the plebiscite, widely viewed as the presidential campaign kickoff of Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the military leader who removed Mr. Morsi.

Almost everyone expects those who do vote to support the charter in a landslide, and at several polling places Tuesday many voters expected a nearly unanimous result.

 

What? Everybody is voting yes to the constitution! one man leaving a polling place exclaimed when he mistakenly thought he had overheard another voter say he had cast his ballot against it.

No, I meant I voted against the last one, that voter, Sami Hadid, 73, clarified, referring to the constitution drafted by an Islamist-led assembly and approved in the previous referendum a little more than one year ago.

 

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[Valin]

Egypt proposed constitution expands rights but shifts power to president
While constitution is progressive, proposed protections for women, children and minorities unlikely to be enforced
Evan Hill
January 14, 2014

Egypt’s latest proposed constitution is less conservative, less Islamist and more progressive than the version drafted and approved under the deposed administration of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi, but its most persuasive quality might be that campaigning against it is illegal.

 

At least that’s the impression given by state and private propaganda pushing a yes vote, the military-backed government’s refusal to allow opposition groups to monitor the process and the recent arrest of political activists who advocated voting no.

 

The last time Egypt voted on a constitution, in December 2012, it set off weeks of anti-Brotherhood protests that fatally damaged Morsi’s administration. This time, army Gen. Abdel Fattah al Sisi, who replaced Morsi, has put the weight of the military and his own potential presidential ambitions behind the referendum, but conditions are even worse.

 

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[Valin]

And of course it would not be an official election in the Arab world without....

 

Clashes mar vote on Egypt's proposed constitution; 11 killed

Laura King

January 14, 2014, 12:41 p.m.

 

 

CAIRO -- Until the early-morning explosion that jolted his wife and children from their beds, Waleed Abdel Salem hadnt even planned to vote in Egypts constitutional referendum.

 

But by midmorning Tuesday, the first of two days of voting, the 42-year-old father of three was standing in a long line with dozens of voters, determined to cast a ballot in favor of Egypts proposed national charter, and hoping that an overwhelming yes vote would nudge army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Sisi to seek the presidency.

 

We need security, he said. The rest, we can work out later.

 

At least 11 people were reported killed nationwide Tuesday in clashes between supporters of Egypt's ousted president, Mohamed Morsi], and security forces. The bloodshed was in keeping with a grim pattern of political violence that has plagued the country for nearly three years since the 2011 fall of autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak

[Valin]

Egypt Overwhelmingly Backs New Charter, Unofficial Results Show

BTarek El-Tablawy, Salma El Wardany and Mariam Fam

Jan 16, 2014

 

Nine out of 10 Egyptians voted for the countrys overhauled constitution, according to unofficial results of a vote heavily pushed by the government and its military backers and boycotted by a large Islamist bloc.

 

The two-day referendum marked the first major milestone of the governments declared plan to restore democracy following the militarys July 3 ouster of President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood. The charter, drafted by a panel dominated by secularists, is meant to replace a constitution approved under Mursi and written by a committee weighted heavily with Islamists. Presidential and parliamentary elections are to follow later this year.

 

Analysts and local media said broad backing for the document and a high turnout may encourage a presidential bid by Defense Minister Abdelfatah Al-Seesi, who led Mursis ouster and has since become a lionized figure in Egypt. State-run Middle East News Agency said initial results from several polling stations nationwide showed the constitution passing with at least 90 percent of voter support.

 

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[Valin]

Kerry Dismisses 98% Support for New Egypt Constitution as Just One Election and Not Inclusive

Bridget Johnson

1/18/14

 

When millions of Egyptians wanted the Muslim Brotherhood leadership out, President Obama noted that Mohammed Morsi won his presidential post in an election.

 

When nearly 20 million Egyptians more than 98 percent of votes cast approved a new constitution to replace the one forged by Islamists, Secretary of State John Kerry said elections arent everything.

 

Egypts new constitution was written by a committee of 50 including women, Christians, one Salafist and one independent Islamist, while the last constitution was written by the Muslim Brotherhood and associated Islamists. The new document forbids religion, race, gender or geography from being the basis to form a political party while guaranteeing freedom of religion and granting, for the first time, Copts the right to build churches without permission of the president. Women are recognized as equals in Egyptians society.

 

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