Egypt Votes on Constitutional Amendments

Human rights groups condemned Egypt’s election on 34 constitutional amendments, while the government hailed voter participation.

No referendum can legitimize these constitutional amendments or bring them in compliance with Egypt’s international obligations, Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement of the proposals put before Egyptian voters on Monday.

The 34 amendments covered a broad scope of issues and would give Egypt’s president the authority to suspend civil protections in connection to terrorism, weaken the courts’ oversight of elections and ban religious political parties, the New York Times reported.

While independent organizations and witnesses told the newspaper that turnout was low, the government reported that 23 percent to 27 percent of voters had participated, a turnout election officials had said would indicate success.

What we are witnessing in Egypt and what we are living in Egypt now is real democratic participation, Information Minister Anas el-Fiqqi said in the Times.