Voting in Egypt’s constitutional referendum enters 2nd day

PanARMENIAN.Net - Voting has resumed in Egypt Wednesday, Jan 15, in a two-day referendum on a new constitution drawn up following the ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, BBC News reports.

The army-backed government is seeking a "Yes" vote to endorse his removal.

With security tight, Tuesday's voting was reported to be broadly peaceful. However, nine people died in clashes involving Morsi supporters.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which has been designated a terrorist group, is boycotting the vote.

The new charter is to replace the constitution passed under Morsi before he was removed last July. Polling stations are scheduled to close at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT), although it remains unclear when results will be announced.

Although the overall turnout remains uncertain, Al-Hayat TV cited the justice ministry as saying it "exceeded 50% in many polling stations" on the first day. The vote is expected to come out in favor of the new charter.

A huge security operation began on Tuesday, with some 160,000 soldiers and more than 200,000 policemen deployed nationwide.

Under the new constitution: The president may serve two four-year terms and can be impeached by parliament; Islam remains the state religion - but freedom of belief is absolute, giving some protection to minorities; The state guarantees "equality between men and women"; Parties may not be formed based on "religion, race, gender or geography"; Military to appoint defense minister for next eight years

Critics say the new charter favors the army at the expense of the people, and fails to deliver on the 2011 revolution.

Mohammed Morsi, who was Egypt's first democratically elected president, is being held in jail in Alexandria, facing several criminal charges relating to his time in office. He says they are politically motivated.

More than 1,000 people have died in violence since Morsi's overthrow.