REPORT: Egypt readies for the second phase of the constitution vote

 
The referendum crisis in Egypt continues in the run up to the second phase of the vote. While it seems that Judiciary circles did exude some sort of relief with the resignation of Chancellor Tallat Ibrahim from his post as Attorney General and the Administrative Prosecution refusing to oversee the second phase of the referendum, the Minister of Justice has assigned judges to investigate alleged abuses witnessed during the first phase of the vote. It was later announced that the Second Official in the Egyptian Electoral Commission Zaghloul Al Balshi has also declined from overseeing the referendum “for health reasons”.        

Meanwhile the Muslim Brotherhood declared via a statement issued yesterday that the Attorney General had been coerced towards resignation by armed groups.             

Egyptian Islamist groups are planning a mass protest in Alexandria on Friday, a move that will raise tensions a day before the final stage of a referendum on a new constitution that has split the nation.                 

The rally announced by the Muslim Brotherhood responds to a violent confrontation between Islamists and their liberal and secular opponents in Egypt's second city last week that ended with a Muslim preacher besieged inside his mosque for 14 hours.                    

For his part Defense Minister General Commander of the Armed Forces Lt. Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, warned of further divisions and their impact on the economy and the country. As for the Popular Socialist Alliance Party, it declared its continuation in the protests to reject the draft constitution in the second phase of the referendum.


LBCI/REUTERS