Egyptians on Wednesday voted on a new draft constitution in a two-day referendum that may set the stage for a Presidential bid by powerful army Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, even as nine people were killed during previous day’s poll-related violence.
The new charter aims to replace the constitution passed under former President Mohammed Morsi months before he was deposed by the army in July, 2013, after nationwide protests against his Islamist regime. About 53 million Egyptians are eligible to vote for the new constitution in the referendum, the result of which could see General Sisi launch a Presidential bid.
Anti-coup protesters, who blame Sisi for the removal of Morsi from the Presidency in July, rallied in the capital Cairo, Al-Sharqiyah in the north of Egypt and Fayoum and Delga, in the south. Egypt’s Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that polling stations across the nation were secure, as Egyptian voters cast their ballots on the second and last referendum day. Tens of thousands of police and army soldiers were deployed across the country to guard the proceedings amid fears of renewed violence after Tuesday’s deadly clashes in several cities left at least nine dead.