Egyptian constitution ‘approved’ in referendum

Egyptians appear to have approved a controversial new constitution in a referendum, unofficial and preliminary results indicate.Results reported by Egyptian state media suggest that some 63 per cent backed the charter over two rounds of voting.Critics say the document, which has triggered mass protests, betrays the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.President Mohammed Morsy’s mainly Islamist supporters say it will secure democracy and encourage stability.Official results are not expected until Monday, after appeals are heard. If the constitution passes, parliamentary elections must take place within three months.Turnout was put at about 30 per cent. The opposition said voting in both rounds of voting had been marred by abuses.Violations in the second round on Saturday ranged from polling stations opening late to Islamists seeking to influence voters, the opposition said.On Saturday, ballots were being cast in the 17 provinces that did not vote in the first round on 15 December. Some 25 million people were eligible to vote.The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement said early on Sunday that, with most votes counted, more than 70 per cent were in favour.The opposition National Salvation Front also said the “yes” vote appeared to have won.In the first round, on December 15, turnout was reported to be just above 30 per cent with unofficial counts suggesting some 56 per cent of those who cast ballots voted in favour of the draft.Opponents have said the draft constitution fails to protect the freedoms and human rights that they sought in the uprising that ended Mr Mubarak’s rule last year.They accuse the president of pushing through a text that favours Islamists and does not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians, who make up about 10 per cent of the population.Controversial decreeEgypt’s official state news agency Mena said that at least two judges had been removed for encouraging voters to cast “yes” ballots.One Egyptian, 19-year-old law student Ahmed Mohammed, said he voted “yes” because Egypt “needs a constitution to be stable”.But at the same polling station in Giza, south-west of the capital, 50-year-old housewife, Zarifa Abdul Aziz, said: “I will vote ‘no’ a thousand times. I am not comfortable with the Brotherhood and all that it is doing”.As voting took place on Saturday, the country’s Vice-President Mahmoud Mekki announced his resignation.Mr Mekki, a former judge who was appointed vice-president in August, said the “nature of politics” did not suit his professional background.Over the past month, seven of President Mohammed Morsy’s 17 top advisers have resigned.Mr Mekki said he had tried to resign on 7 November, but his decision had been delayed by the Israeli conflict in Gaza and President Morsy’s controversial decree on November 22 granting himself sweeping new powers.