Sunday Times 2
Egypt to announce results of constitutional referendum
View(s):CAIRO, Jan 18 (AFP) -Egyptian authorities are to announce today the results of a constitutional referendum the interim government has hailed as a ringing endorsement of the army’s ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Officials count ballots after polls closed during the final stage of a referendum on Egypt's new constitution in Cairo, January 15 (REUTERS)
Initial tallies suggest this week’s two-day referendum passed with an overwhelming majority, in what the military-installed government said was a strong stamp of approval for the overthrow of Egypt’s first freely elected president.
But Morsi’s Islamist supporters, harried by a deadly crackdown since his removal in July, vowed more protests and faced off with police on Friday in clashes that killed four people.
Flagship state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram said Saturday the turnout was more than 40 percent of the country’s 53 million registered voters, with the “overwhelming majority” voting yes.
The new constitution will replace the one adopted under Morsi in a 2012 referendum and passed with 33 percent voter turnout. It has done away with much of the Islamist-inspired wording of Morsi’s constitution.