Egypt: Egyptians approve constitutional amendments in referendum

CAIRO, (Xinhua): About 77.2 percent of Egyptian voters approved the constitutional amendments in a referendum, Egypt's High Judicial Commission announced Sunday.

Mohammad Attiya, head of the commission for supervising the referendum said Sunday evening in a press conference that the turnout in the referendum was 41 percent of the total eligible Egyptian voters, or nearly 18.5 million.

Some 22.8 percent of the voters rejected the constitutional changes.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which took power since the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, will announce soon a constitutional declaration in which the amended nine articles will be applicable, said Tariq El Bishry, chief of the committee for the constitutional amendments.

"This is the start of People's Assembly and Shoura Council elections in June, after that both councils will set a new constitution for the country in six months," added El Bishry.

The approval of the amendments will pave the way for free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections later this year. According to the timetable offered by the SCAF, the presidential elections will be held in September.

According to the amendments, the presidential term will be shortened to four years from six years, and there will be a two- term cap on the president.

The changes will also ease the restrictions on the presidential candidacy, require the president nominate one or more vice presidents within 60 days of taking office, impose complete judicial supervision on elections and cancel one article regarding anti-terrorism.

On Saturday, unprecedented throngs of people went to the polling stations to participate in what they believed was the first real democratic process in years to change their future for better.

Some 17,000 judges and members of the judiciary system were arranged to supervise the process, with 36,000 soldiers and policemen deployed near the stations to ensure security.

Mohammed El Baradei, Egypt's prominent opposition figure and the former United Nations nuclear watchdog chief, was attacked unexpectedly Saturday afternoon by rocks thrown from the crowds when he arrived at a polling station in Cairo to cast his vote.

The SCAF had given the amendments committee 10 days to finish the package of changes for public referendum and asserted the importance of a safe transition period that will lead to a civil government in the country.

"We are opening a new bright page of honorable history," said Hamdy Khaifah, the chairman of the Press Syndicate, adding that " We respect the will of people, as long as they approved the amendments and the coming days will witnessed a kind of stability. "

Attiya praised the Egyptian youths for creating the spirit of freedom, change and democracy. He also hailed the army's efforts to stand by the people.

The head of the Democratic Union party said that "We moved from the corruption era to the democratic reforms."

However, the constitutional amendments faced objections from a number of political parties and groups such as the National Coalition for Change led by El Baradei, the Wafd Party, the Youth of the Revolution Coalition, the Tagammu and Al-Ghad parties.

The head of the Integration Party, or "El Takaful", expressed his rejection of the results and claimed that the party would file complaints of accusations to the general prosecutor about the violations that occurred during the voting process.

The Muslim Brotherhood and the former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) backed the amendments.

Analysts said that to hold elections early will help the Muslim Brotherhood and the NDP, two of the most organized political groups in the country.