CAIRO: Egyptians voted yesterday in the second and final phase of a referendum on a constitution that has polarized the nation, with little indication that the result of the vote will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.
For some supporters, a ‘yes’ vote was a chance to restore some normalcy after nearly two years of tumultuous transitional politics following Egypt’s 2011 revolution, or to make society and laws more Islamic. Opponents saw their ‘no’ vote as a way to preserve the country’s secular traditions and prevent President Muhammad Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood group from getting a lock on power.
“I came early to make sure my ‘no’ is among the first of millions today,” oil company manager Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz said as he waited in line outside a polling station in the Dokki district of Giza, Cairo’s twin city on the west bank of the Nile. “I am here to say ‘no’ to Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood,” he said.
Another Giza voter, accountant and mother of three Sahar Mohamed Zakaria, had a different take on yesterday’s vote. “I’m voting ‘yes’ for stability,” she announced.
Yesterday’s vote took place in 17 of Egypt’s 27 provinces with about 25 million eligible voters. The first phase on Dec. 15 produced a “yes” majority of about 56 percent with a turnout of some 32 percent, according to preliminary results. Preliminary results for the second round are expected early today.
As was the case in last week’s vote, opposition and rights activists reported numerous irregularities: Polling stations opening later than scheduled, conservatives outside stations trying to influence voters to say “yes,” and independent monitors denied access.
In Fayoum, the capital of an oasis province of the same name where Islamic groups have traditionally had strong support, a member of the local Christian community said she also supported the charter — a break with most Christians nationwide who oppose the draft.
Hanaa Zaki said she was also voting “yes” for stability and an end to the country’s deepening economic problems. Speaking as she waited in line along with bearded Muslim men and Muslim women wearing head scarves, Zaki said: “I have a son who didn’t get paid for the past six months. We have been in this crisis for so long and we are fed up.”
In the village of Sanaro, also in Fayoum province some 100 km southwest of Cairo, farmer Azouz Ayesh sat with his neighbors as their cattle grazed in a nearby field. “I don’t trust the Brotherhood anymore and I don’t trust the opposition either. We are forgotten, the most miserable and the first to suffer. If I say ‘yes’ there will be stability and if I say ‘no’ there will still be no stability,” he said.
“But I will vote against this constitution,” he added.
In the neighboring village of Sheikh Fadl, a car fitted with loudspeakers toured the area with a man shouting, “Yes, yes to the constitution!” In the city of Fayoum, a man could be seen painting over posters urging people to vote “no.”
In Giza’s upscale Mohandiseen neighborhood, a group of 12 women speaking to one another in a mix of French, Arabic and English said they all intended to vote “no.”
“My friends are Muslim and are voting ‘no.’ It’s not about Christian versus Muslim, but it is Muslim Brotherhood versus everyone else,” said one of the 12, Christian physician Shahira Sadeq. “Voting ‘yes’ does not mean stability.”
Kamla El-Tantawi, 65, voted with her daughter and granddaughter. “I voted ‘no’ against what I’m seeing,” she said, gesturing to a woman standing close by wearing the niqab. “I lose sleep thinking about my grandchildren and their future. They never saw the beautiful Egypt we did.”
“Mursi, God willing, will be better than those who came before him,” said Zeinab Khalil, a mother of three who wears the niqab, said. “A ‘yes’ vote moves the country forward. We want things to calm down, more jobs and better education,” she said, while waiting for her turn to vote in Giza’s poor Imbaba district, a one-time stronghold of radicals.
In part, Egypt’s split has been over who will shape the country’s path nearly two years after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.
An opposition made up of liberals, leftists, secular Egyptians and a swath of the public angered over Mursi’s 5-month-old rule fear that conservatives are creating a new Mubarak-style autocracy.
If the constitution is adopted, Mursi will call for the election of Parliament’s law-making lower chamber to be held within two months while giving the mostly toothless upper chamber legislative powers until the lower house is seated.
The upper chamber, known as the Shoura Council, was elected by less than 10 percent of the country’s 50 million registered voters. It is dominated by conservatives.
Mursi was already gearing up for the next steps after the constitution’s passage, making a last-minute appointment of 90 new members to the Shoura Council, a third of its total membership. Current rules allow him to do so, but if he waited until the charter was passed he could only appoint 10.
Referendum result unlikely to end Egypt political crisis
