Egypt opposition backs referendum ‘No’ vote

Egypt’s opposition National Salvation Front has urged supporters to vote “No” in a looming referendum on a controversial draft constitution.

However, it said it could still call a boycott if its demands for the ballot – including the judiciary acting as overseer – were not met.

The opposition says the draft document is backed by President Mohammed Morsi and his supporters,according to BBC.

The controversy has prompted mass demonstrations across Egypt.

In a separate development, conciliation talks called for Wednesday by the head of the armed forces have been postponed, with no new date announced.

The National Salvation Front on Wednesday spelled out its stance on the referendum, issuing a call to Egyptians to “go to polling stations to refuse the proposed constitution and to vote ‘no'”.

Leading opposition politician and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa told Reuters news agency: “We will vote ‘no’.”

An already confused situation in Egypt has quickly become even more confusing. The opposition has finally decided to urge supporters to take part in the referendum on the new constitution and to vote “No”.

But it has imposed several conditions that could prove impossible for the government to meet.

The opposition also agreed to take part in reconciliation talks hosted by the army. But then, for some unknown reason, the army delayed the talks from Wednesday and did not fix a new date.

Even the date of the referendum is not clear, with some government sources reporting that it will be held over two days, others that it will just be on Saturday.

But another leading opposition figure, Hamdeen Sabbahi, told a news conference the Front would still call for a boycott if key conditions were not met.

“If these guarantees aren’t in place by the day of the referendum on Saturday, we will withdraw from it,” he said.

Voting has already begun in embassies and consulates abroad, but there is still much confusion over the domestic vote, particularly whether it will be held over the next two weekends or on 15 December alone as demanded by the opposition.

Further confusion arose when the military said a national unity meeting aimed at calming the crisis had been delayed “because reactions to it were not at the level wished for”.

 

Only moments before the postponement, the opposition had made it known that it was prepared to take part.

Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the defence minister and head of the armed forces, thanked those who had responded to the invitation but said the talks were being postponed to an unspecified later date.

As tensions surrounding the vote grew, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Cairo on Tuesday in rallies both for and against the proposed constitution.

R.S

You might also like
Latest news
Turkey holds Israel responsible for threatening regional security First phase of prisoner exchange deal between the government and the SDF completed Repeated Israeli raids on Syria receive wide condemnation Presidential Decree announcing the ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republ... United Nations condemns repeated Israeli escalation in Syria Emmanuel Macron:Trump's tariffs are a shock to international trade Will Syria Be Affected by Trump’s Decision of imposing Tariffs Qatar calls for urgent international action to stop repeated Israeli raids on Syria Prisoner exchange between the Internal Security Directorate in Aleppo and the SDF involves 250 priso... Syrian doctors in Germany launch campaign to perform hundreds of surgeries in six Syrian provinces Delegation of Syrian Jews in Washington meet with members of US Congress, call for lifting sanctions... Jordan and Egypt condemn the latest Israeli aggression on Syria Funeral of the martyrs in the Israeli aggression that targeted Nawa city in Daraa Jordan's King stresses need to support Syria's efforts to maintain its security and stability Trump's new tariffs affect Syria by 41% Fact-Finding Committee on Syrian Coast events: Detainees' testimonies should be documented Nine people martyred, several others wounded due to the Israeli bombardment of Daraa Foreign Ministry strongly condemns the latest wave of Israeli attacks on Syria A ship, carrying 147 heavy vehicles, arrives at Lattakia port to support Syria's transport sector Israeli occupation fires artillery shells on Tal al-Jumu' area in Daraa, makes incursion into Sad al...