Egypt crisis: Rival rallies as referendum looms

 

 

Supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi are staging final rallies ahead of a referendum on a draft constitution which is due to start on Saturday.

Opponents say the draft constitution, backed by the Islamists including the president, is poorly crafted.

They criticise what they call an attempt by the president to push it through without proper consultation.

 

The controversy has sparked bloody clashes across Egypt.
I will boycott this referendum... This country doesn't need more division”

End Quote Nadia Cairo housewife

As the start of the referendum nears, security is tight, with tens of thousands of police and troops deployed to keep order.

President Morsi has also given the army the power to arrest civilians, raising fears that Egypt is moving back towards military rule.
A new Egyptian constitution is seen as a major milestone following the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Polls will open at 08:00 (06:00 GMT) on Saturday in Cairo, Alexandria and eight other provinces. The other half of the country will vote a week later.

Polling had to be spread out because so few judges were willing to supervise the vote.

Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who heads the National Salvation Front, wrote on his Twitter feed: "Insistence on referendum in an explosive, polarised, chaotic and lawless environment is leading country to the brink."

Earlier this week, leading opposition figure Hamdeen Sabbahi said the Front would still call for a boycott if key conditions were not met by Saturday.

On Friday it was unclear if a boycott would be called.

Last weekend, President Morsi offered a concession to the opposition by annulling a 22 November decree that gave him sweeping new powers.