Clashes precede second leg of Egypt referendum

ALEXANDRIA: Thousands of pro-government activists clashed with their opponents yesterday in Egypt’s second largest city, Alexandria, on the eve of the second leg of voting on the country’s contentious constitution that has deeply polarized the nation.
The two sides hurled rocks and stones at each other in the Mediterranean port city, prompting police to fire tear gas to separate them. Volleys of tear gas containers fell into the sea as security forces cordoned off the crowds to prevent further clashes between the Muslim Brotherhood members and Salafis on one side, and groups of young protesters on the other. It was not immediately clear who started the fight, which added to the already tense political crisis over the draft charter.
The religious bloc had called for a massive rally yesterday outside the Qaed Ibrahim main mosque in the heart of Alexandria. About 20 political parties had issued a joint statement, saying they would not hold a rival rally in the city to avoid clashes.
Security forces cordoned off streets leading to the mosque as throngs of mostly Salafis gathered for what they called “the million-man rally to defend clerics and mosques.” Protesters chanted “God is Great,” and warned opponents, “with blood and soul, we redeem Islam.”
The rally was called in response to last week’s violence, when a well-known Alexandria preacher and Salafi cleric, Sheik Ahmed El-Mahalawi, was trapped inside a mosque for 12 hours while his supporters battled rock-throwing opponents outside with swords and firebombs.
El-Mahalawi, 87, stirred anger with a sermon last Friday in which he denounced opponents of the draft charter as “followers of heretics” — something he denied, accusing media instead of spreading “lies.” He claimed that last week’s clashes were meant to prevent the voting from taking place.
“The real goal here is for the referendum not to take place,” he said yesterday, adding that his backers had been ready with “teams of people equipped with all facilities to end the siege on the mosque” but he held them back because Salafis “don’t want to shed blood.”
The referendum on the constitution is to be completed today with voting in the remaining 17 of Egypt’s 27 provinces. The first round was held in 10 provinces last Saturday, including in Egypt’s biggest cities, Cairo and Alexandria.
Rights groups and opposition filed complaints of vote violations after last week’s voting. Turnout was low, around 32 percent, and unofficial results showed the conservatives’ “yes” vote getting 56 percent of the ballots.
Zaghloul El-Balshi, the secretary-general of the election committee who is also a judge and an aid to the country’s justice minister, resigned on Wednesday, citing health reasons. The media said his resignation was prompted by his inability to prevent vote violations in the first leg of the referendum.