Egypt votes in referendum seen as key for army chief election bid

Egypt votes in referendum seen as key for army chief election bid

Voting proceeded smoothly Wednesday in a referendum on a new Egyptian constitution after clashes killed nine people on day one, with turnout seen as key to a likely presidential bid by the army chief.

An Egyptian street vendor sells the country's national flag and masks of Egypt's Defence Minister General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi outside a polling station on January 15, 2014 in the southern Cairo Giza district

There is little question the two-day vote will pass the new charter, which the military-installed interim authorities say provides greater protections for freedom of speech and women's rights, as the Islamist opposition has called a boycott.

But government and opposition alike will be closely watching the turnout for the first vote since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July.

Dozens of Morsi supporters blocked a metro station in a Cairo suburb on Wednesday, security officials said, but there were no reports of disruption to polling.

On Tuesday, sporadic clashes between Morsi supporters and their opponents and police left at least nine dead.

Egypt's first freely elected president was ousted by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after mass protests against his turbulent single year in power.

Sisi has said he is prepared to stand in a presidential election promised for later this year, if there is enough popular support, and the two-day referendum provides the first concrete test.

In December 2012, 33 percent of the country's 53 million voters turned out for a referendum on the charter drafted by Morsi's team, with 64 percent voting yes.

The new text has done away with much of the Islamist-inspired wording of Morsi's charter, but it bolsters the military's powers and allows it to try civilians for attacks on the armed forces.

Morsi's Brotherhood was designated a terrorist group by the military-installed authorities as part of their crackdown on the movement that dominated all previous polls since the ouster of long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak in early 2011.

More than 300 people have been arrested for disrupting polling since voting began on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said he hoped the referendum would be "transparent and accountable".

"But we don't know yet," he told reporters in Kuwait.

On Tuesday, State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said that a bill Congress is expected to pass on Friday will allow the White House to unfreeze all $1.5 billion (1.1 billion euros) in US aid if it can certify that Egypt "has held a constitutional referendum, and is taking steps to support a democratic transition".

Sisi watching voter turnout

Egyptian media hailed Tuesday's first day of polling.

"Yes, even if criminals hate it," said a front page headline in Al-Wafd, a private daily, referring disparagingly to supporters of Morsi.

"Egyptians choose their future as millions write history," said state-owned daily Al-Gomhuria.

The government hopes a large turnout in favour of the new constitution will bolster its disputed authority, while army chief Sisi will monitor it for an "indicator" of his popularity, an official close to the general said.

Interim president Adly Mansour's government has pledged the referendum will be followed by parliamentary and presidential elections.

Backers of the charter are hoping it will garner the support of at least 70 percent of votes cast.

"We trusted the Muslim Brotherhood and agreed on their constitution, their government, their parliament... but they cheated us," said Jihan Abdel Aziz, as she waited outside a Cairo polling station to cast her vote on Wednesday.

"We are now voting for this constitution to get us out of this crisis."

But Amr Desoki, an Egyptian student who said he was not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, told AFP that he was boycotting the referendum.

"This constitution or whatever this farce is going on these days... I am boycotting it... The constitution to me is illegitimate and I don't recognise it."

State media gave no indication of what turnout had been so far, and there was no official announcement.

Hundreds of thousands of police and troops deployed across the country amid fears recent attacks by militants would deter voters.

Many Islamists revile Sisi for his overthrow of Morsi, but the general is adored by millions who took to the streets last year to demand the president's resignation.

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