Egypt: Voters approve referendum
CAIRO — Voters in Egypt approved constitutional amendments allowing President AbdelFattah el-Sissi to remain in power until 2030, election officials said Tuesday, a move that critics fear will cement his authoritarian rule eight years after a prodemocracy uprising.
El-Sissi led the military overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president amid mass protests against his rule in 2013 and has since presided over an unprecedented crackdown on dissent. Thousands of people have been arrested by authorities and freedoms won in 2011, when mass protests ended President Hosni Mubarak’s nearly three-decade rule, have been rolled back. Lasheen Ibrahim, the head of Egypt’s National Election Authority, told a news conference the amendments to the 2014 constitution were approved with 88.83% voting in favor, with a turnout of 44.33%. The nationwide referendum took place over three days to maximize turnout. Egypt has some 61 million eligible voters.
In his first public comments on the amendments, el-Sissi thanked the Egyptian people for voting.
“Wonderful scene done by Egyptians who took part in the referendum... will be written down in our nation’s historical record,” he tweeted minutes after Ibrahim announced the results.
Pro-government media, business people and lawmakers had pushed for a “Yes” vote and a high turnout, with many offering free rides and food handouts to voters, while authorities threatened to fine anyone boycotting the three-day referendum.
Opposition parties had urged a “no” vote, but they have little power in parliament, which is packed with el-Sissi supporters and overwhelmingly approved the amendments earlier this month. The local media is also dominated by progovernment commentators, and the authorities have blocked hundreds of websites, including many operated by independent media and rights groups.
Two international advocacy groups — Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists — had urged the Egyptian government to withdraw the amendments, saying they placed the country on a path to more autocratic rule.