Sunday, December 23, 2012

Egypt's Islam-Backed Const. Gets a "Yes" Majority; Morsi Non-Supporters Bound to Increase Protests

Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution received a "yes" majority in a final round of voting on a referendum that saw a low voter turnout, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil in the nation, the Times of Israel website reports today (December 23, 2012).

Passage is a victory for Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, but a costly one. The bruising battle over the past month stripped away hope that the long-awaited constitution would bring a national consensus on the path Egypt will take after shedding its autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.

Instead, Morsi disappointed many non-Islamists  -- even more so than Mubarak -- who once backed the new president, resulting in Morsi becoming more reliant on his core support in the Muslim Brotherhood party and other radical Islamists.

Yesterday's voting in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces was the second and final round of the referendum. Preliminary results released early today by  Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood showed that 71.4 percent of those who voted yesterday said "yes" after 95.5 percent of the ballots were counted.

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