Soldier stands guard outside polling station in Maadi neighborhood of Cairo Egyptians proceeded voting in a public referendum on a draft constitution for the second consecutive day on Wednesday amid tight security and follow-up by judges and observers. The referendum is held under judicial supervision , with 13,867 judges taking part in the process. Up to 53 million Egyptians, in and outside the nation, are eligible to cast their votes on the proposed 247-article constitution.
The electoral higher commission, chaired by Cairo's criminal court chief justice, Nabil Slaib, is supervising 352 committees. These commissions are in charge of some 30,000 sub-committees.
Votes are due to be counted after ballots' closure, scheduled at 9 p.m. (Egypt's local time). Ballots will be assembled by the sub-committees and sent to the higher commission, which will declare final result of the referendum.
Meanwhile, the ministry of interior said 11 people died and 42 others were wounded in several governorates during the voting. Up to 140 suspected saboteurs were apprehended.
The head of the Arab League mission tasked with overseeing the voting, Ambassador Haifaa Abu Ghazala, declared that the observers stationed in 17 provinces reported no irregularities or complaints. She added at a news conference that the voters' turnout was high and that the Arab and foreign observers faced no problems at the ballot centers.
Daily newspapers issued on Wednesday highlighted the first round of the referendum. Al-Ahram headlined, "A new historic day for Egypt where millions have taken part in making its future." The proposed constitution had been drafted by "the 50 commission," under chairmanship of the former Arab League Secretary General, Amr Moussa.
Source: KUNA