Egypt's vice president resigns

Egypt's vice president, Mahmoud Mekky, has resigned from his post, a presidential source said on Saturday, without giving any reason.    

The source said the presidential spokesman would issue a statement shortly. Mekky took a leading role in hosting "national unity" talks called by President Mohamed Mursi, although the main opposition politicians stayed away.

In turn, Egypt's Central Bank Governor Farouk El-Okadah resigned on Saturday, state television reported and said his deputy Hisham Ramez is the most likely candidate to fill his post. However, the Egyptian cabinet denied state television's report that El-Okdah had resigned. "It is not true," spokesman Alaa Hadidi said by telephone. "I am officially denying it," the cabinet spokesman told Reuters.

Earlier, Egypt extended voting by four hours on Saturday in the second and decisive round of a referendum that was expected to approve the country's new Islamist-drafted constitution after weeks of protests and violence.
   
Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Morsi, who was elected in June, say the charter is vital to move Egypt towards democracy, nearly two years after an Arab Spring revolution overthrew authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak.
   
It will help restore the stability needed to fix an economy that is on the ropes, they say.
   
But the opposition says the document is divisive and has accused Morsi of pushing through a text that favors his Islamist allies while ignoring the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population, as well as women.
   
"I'm voting 'no' because Egypt can't be ruled by one faction," said Karim Nahas, 35, a stockbroker, heading to a polling station in Giza, a province included in this round of voting which covers parts of greater Cairo.
   
At another polling station, some voters said they were more interested in ending Egypt's long period of political instability than in the Islamist aspects of the charter.
   
"We have to extend our hands to Morsi to help fix the country," said Hisham Kamal, an accountant.
   
Queues formed at some polling stations around the country and voting was extended by four hours to 11 p.m.
   
Unofficial tallies are likely to emerge within hours of the close, but the referendum committee may not declare an official result for the two rounds until Monday, after hearing appeals.


AP/REUTERS