Egypt facing fresh turmoil after referendum vote

Egypt was facing the prospect of fresh turmoil on Sunday night after the country's secular opposition rejected a referendum vote backing a new constitution as fraudulent and vowed to overturn it.

By Robert Tait, Middle East Correspondent and Magdy Samaan

Daily Telegraph

9:08PM GMT 23 Dec 2012

The pledge, from the National Salvation Front, came as President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement hailed unofficial figures showing 64 per cent in favour of the constitution as a triumph that would usher in stability and democracy after weeks of violent unrest.

With official results scheduled to be announced on Monday, the brotherhood said the constitution – which was drafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly – represented "a historic opportunity to unite all national powers on the basis of mutual respect and honest dialogue for the sake of stabilising the nation".

But the chances of such an outcome seemed remote as National Salvation Front leaders alleged that voting in Saturday's poll had been riddled with "fraud and violations".

The front declared their determination to appeal while pressing ahead with moves to merge their disparate movement into a united political party.

They alleged that some polling stations stayed open late and that Islamists campaigned illegally in some places. There were also complaints of irregularities in voter registration.

"We are asking the (electoral) commission to investigate the irregularities before announcing official results," Amr Hamzawy, a member of the front, told a press conference, citing alleged fraud and a low turnout said to be around 30 per cent. "Our struggle is peaceful to bring down an invalid constitution."

"The referendum is not the end of the road," added Khaled Dawoud, one of the front's spokesmen. "It is only the beginning of a long struggle for Egypt's future."

However, another member of the front, Mohamed Ghoneim, cautioned against rejecting the referendum before it was proved to be fraudulent.

"We will wait for the reaction of the street and then the political elite will adjust its position accordingly," he told the Daily Telegraph."We can't reject the result of the referendum completely. Rejecting it before proving that it's fake will be considered a rejection of what is called democracy."

The opposition says the constitution is aimed at bringing in Sharia law and discriminates against women and minorities, particularly Christians who make up around 10 per cent of Egypt's population.

Voting was held in two rounds on consecutive Saturdays after many of the judges needed to supervise the ballot went on strike. According to unofficial figures, the second round – concentrated on conservative rural areas dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and their Salafist allies – produced an even more emphatic yes vote than the first, when around 57 per cent voted in favour.

On Saturday, voters in the village of Marazeeq in South Giza, waited in gender-segregated queues to cast their ballots, with most women wearing Islamic niqab face-coverings.

Some were convinced by the brotherhood's argument that Egypt needed stability to revive its stuttering economy while others openly favoured sharia law. "I'm saying yes so the wheels of producing will start spinning, so I can find work instead of begging," said one man, Mohammed Ahmed.

Ahmed Mossa a contractor with two wives, said Islamic law was appropriate because Egypt was a conservative society. "As you can see, all women here are wearing niqab. We are applying Sharia in our life," he said.

The opposition pledge to fight on follows weeks of unrest on the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities, initially triggered by Mr Morsi's decision – later reversed – to grant himself sweeping powers putting himself above legal challenge.

Street clashes intensified after the president rushed the proposed constitution through a drafting assembly which was boycotted by liberals and secularists. On December 5, eight people were killed and around 600 injured in clashes between Islamists and secularists outside Mr Morsi's presidential palace in Cairo.

Further confrontations in Egypt's second city, Alexandria, last Friday left 62 people injured after riot police used batons and tear gas to separate rival demonstrators who pelted each other with stones.

The atmosphere of dissent thickened further on Sunday as around 1,000 judges and prosecutors gathered outside the supreme court to protest against the country's chief prosecutor, Talaat Ibrahim, who angered members of the judiciary last week by retracting an earlier decision to resign.