Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to boycott constitutional referendumDecember 17, 2013 - 15:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-led alliance says it will boycott a forthcoming referendum on the country's newly-amended constitution, Press TV reports. The alliance which is made up of supporters of deposed president, Mohammed Morsi, says it rejects any vote under military rule. The group has also pledged to organize a campaign against the vote. This comes as Egypt prepares for a referendum on the country's new constitution in mid-January. The vote will be the first measure of support for the military’s ouster of Egypt’s first democratically-elected president. The new constitution was drafted after military-installed authorities revised the one written during the Morsi era. Many are critical of the new law saying it retains the powers and privileges of the military. The constitution makes illegal the formation of religious parties, as well as all activities carried out by those parties. The Muslim Brotherhood has repeatedly rejected the draft charter together with the rest of the army-led transition plan, calling it a product of a military coup. The group also says that the constitution runs contrary to the objectives of the 2011 revolution that ended decades of rule by former dictator, Hosni Mubarak. Tensions in Egypt have been running high since Morsi was ousted on July 3. Hundreds have lost their lives in the ensuing violence across the country. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |