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Egypt Votes on Controversial Constitutional Changes |
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Written by Staff Writer
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Mar 26, 2007 at 11:57 AM |
Egypt is voting on controversial constitutional changes which the regime says promote democracy but the opposition charges curb basic freedoms.
The amendments, which were rushed through the ruling party-dominated parliament only a week ago, have drawn rare US criticism and prompted opposition calls for a boycott.
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There was no sign of voters rushing to the thousands of polling stations across the country hours after they opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT).
"What's the use? All referendums are fixed," said 50-year-old Abdallah as he drove his taxi through the busy streets of downtown Cairo, where police in riot gear and others in plainclothes were heavily deployed.
"Egyptians know what's going on but we can't say anything or we'll be arrested and put in jail."
Most of the voters seen at polling stations were government workers granted a break by their employers to cast their ballot, or people gathered from impoverished neighbourhoods by the ruling party.
The regime says the amendments fulfil President Hosni Mubarak's promise for democratic change and are crucial to the security of the Arab world's most populous country and the entire region.
Critics lambast them as a major setback for basic freedoms and a bid by the regime to put a lid on the Islamist opposition's growing popularity while ensuring a smooth transition of power from Mubarak to his son Gamal.
Turnout was expected to be low due to a boycott by a united opposition front and an abbreviated campaign but Mubarak urged Egyptians to support the amendments in an address on national television.
"These amendments reflect the reality of our society, with its political and social changes," he said.
"They will give a push to the activities of (political) parties... will end trading in religion and illegitimate political activity, and protect the nation from the dangers of terrorism."
Mubarak, who has ruled under a state of emergency since he took office in 1981, has billed the amendments as the most wide-ranging changes to the constitution under his watch.
But the London-based rights watchdog Amnesty International has described them as the "greatest erosion of human rights in 26 years."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, whose administration has been accused of easing the pressure on Egypt to reform, voiced deep concern.
Most of the 34 articles being amended remove references to socialism.
But the changes also allow the authorities to arrest terrorism suspects without a warrant and refer them to military courts and reduce judicial oversight of elections.
One amendment bans political activity based on religion.
"My simple answer is this prohibition is already in our legislation for years and years and years," Gamal Mubarak told AFP in an interview on Sunday. "All that the president did is elevate that very important principle to the constitution."
The Muslim Brotherhood, which sees itself as the main target of the changes, has called for a boycott, arguing that the regime will tamper with the results anyway.
"A boycott is the ideal solution to this constitutional manipulation," Brotherhood spokesman Issam al-Aryan told AFP.
A small group of protestors waving yellow banners calling for a boycott of the vote demonstrated amid tight security in central Cairo as polling kicked off. No major incidents had been reported four hours after the vote began.
The Ghad party of jailed opposition leader Ayman Nur reported that some of its members had been rounded up in several Egyptian cities on Monday.
Egypt's last referendum was held in May 2005 when Mubarak proposed a constitutional amendment that paved the way for the country's first pluralist presidential election.
Turnout then was put officially at over 50 percent but experts and observers said it barely exceeded three percent.
Ahmed Ezz, a senior member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), said he was expecting turnout to stand at between 24 and 27 percent.
"We want a clean vote and to make sure that there are no irregularities," he told AFP from the referendum operation room, where some 300 NDP volunteers were monitoring the polling process on the phone.
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Last Updated ( Mar 26, 2007 at 12:04 PM )
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