CAIRO — Egyptians returned to the polls Saturday for the second and final day of a national referendum on a new constitution that would deepen the influence of Islamic law in this country.
The charter is expected to pass, and those who supported it said they hoped Saturday’s vote would usher in a semblance of stability, ending a month-long political crisis that that has seen bitter ideological divisions between Islamists and their opponents devolve into violent street battles.
But clashes between the Islamist supporters of the charter and opposition members on the eve of the vote, even as it was expected to pass, highlighted a lingering atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding Egypt’s political future.
Divisions over the constitution have pitted the country’s elected president Mohamed Morsi, backed by the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, against a broad coalition of liberals, leftists, and Christians who accuse the Islamists of seeking to entrench their own power and ideology amid a tumultuous two-year transition from authoritarian rule. The Islamists say the new constitution and the Islamist-dominated assembly that drafted it reflect Egypt’s democratic will.
Preliminary results from the first round of voting last week showed that 56 percent voted in favor of the constitution, despite a weak effort by opposition groups to lobby for a ‘No’ vote. And as Egypt’s remaining provinces — some with strong Islamist constituencies — voted Saturday, many said they expected an even wider majority by day’s end. Official results are expected Monday.
If it passes, the government would be required to hold parliamentary elections within 60 days. The upper house of parliament, known as the Shura Council — another body stacked with Islamists — would meanwhile assume legislative control of the country.
Some of Morsi’s opponents expressed a feeling of frustrated resignation as they went to the polls Saturday, casting their ballots against what they called a “Muslim Brotherhood constitution” even as they predicted that the referendum would pass.
“We voted ‘No,’ but we know that the results will be a ‘Yes,’” said Mervat Nassim Ibrahim, a Christian homemaker, who voted in the religiously mixed working class district of Shubra al-Kheima, north of Cairo. “It’s just like the presidency. We didn’t vote for Morsi, but he won anyway,” she said.
Opposition members say the constitution, which was rushed to approval last month by an assembly dominated by Islamists, fails to enshrine the rights of women and minority groups, while leaving the door open to fundamentalist interpretations of Islamic law. Ibrahim and many others said Saturday they believed the charter, if passed, would carry dire consequences for Egypt’s Christian minority in a country already fraught with sectarian tension.
If passed, the constitution would also give al-Azhar, the country’s highest Islamic authority, the extraordinary power to pass judgment on the religious merits of the nation’s laws.
Opposition activists and No-voters said Saturday that approval of the charter would invariably lead to further unrest.
The charter is expected to pass, and those who supported it said they hoped Saturday’s vote would usher in a semblance of stability, ending a month-long political crisis that that has seen bitter ideological divisions between Islamists and their opponents devolve into violent street battles.
But clashes between the Islamist supporters of the charter and opposition members on the eve of the vote, even as it was expected to pass, highlighted a lingering atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding Egypt’s political future.
Divisions over the constitution have pitted the country’s elected president Mohamed Morsi, backed by the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, against a broad coalition of liberals, leftists, and Christians who accuse the Islamists of seeking to entrench their own power and ideology amid a tumultuous two-year transition from authoritarian rule. The Islamists say the new constitution and the Islamist-dominated assembly that drafted it reflect Egypt’s democratic will.
Preliminary results from the first round of voting last week showed that 56 percent voted in favor of the constitution, despite a weak effort by opposition groups to lobby for a ‘No’ vote. And as Egypt’s remaining provinces — some with strong Islamist constituencies — voted Saturday, many said they expected an even wider majority by day’s end. Official results are expected Monday.
If it passes, the government would be required to hold parliamentary elections within 60 days. The upper house of parliament, known as the Shura Council — another body stacked with Islamists — would meanwhile assume legislative control of the country.
Some of Morsi’s opponents expressed a feeling of frustrated resignation as they went to the polls Saturday, casting their ballots against what they called a “Muslim Brotherhood constitution” even as they predicted that the referendum would pass.
“We voted ‘No,’ but we know that the results will be a ‘Yes,’” said Mervat Nassim Ibrahim, a Christian homemaker, who voted in the religiously mixed working class district of Shubra al-Kheima, north of Cairo. “It’s just like the presidency. We didn’t vote for Morsi, but he won anyway,” she said.
Opposition members say the constitution, which was rushed to approval last month by an assembly dominated by Islamists, fails to enshrine the rights of women and minority groups, while leaving the door open to fundamentalist interpretations of Islamic law. Ibrahim and many others said Saturday they believed the charter, if passed, would carry dire consequences for Egypt’s Christian minority in a country already fraught with sectarian tension.
If passed, the constitution would also give al-Azhar, the country’s highest Islamic authority, the extraordinary power to pass judgment on the religious merits of the nation’s laws.
Opposition activists and No-voters said Saturday that approval of the charter would invariably lead to further unrest.