Thaindian News

CAIRO (BNO NEWS) — Egypt’s referendum official results on Sunday showed 77 per cent of voters support the constitutional changes, Ahram online reported.

In total, 18,537,954 Egyptians voted out of around 45 million eligible voters, making the turnout 41 per cent, far less than yesterday’s estimated 60 per cent. More than 14 million — 77.2 per cent — voted in favor, with around 4 million — 22.8 per cent — opposed.

The constitutional changes pave the way for Egypt to hold new presidential and parliamentary elections within months, after which both the new president and parliament would be in charge of drafting a new constitution via an elected constituent assembly. Other changes include reducing the presidential terms from six years to four years, and limiting the president to two terms.

Major General Mamdouh Shahin, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legal Affairs, said to Al Shorouk Daily Newspaper that the Supreme Council of Armed Forces will issue a constitutional declaration that organizes the transitional period, as reported by Ahram online.

Many of those who voted against the amendments argue that the timeframe was too short for political parties to organize, and that they want a more active civilian role in the decisions made by the Supreme Council.

The landmark referendum, which happened five weeks after Hosni Mubarak was toppled as president, was marred after presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei was attacked while on his way to cast his vote at a polling station in Cairo. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been urging Egyptians to vote “No” to the constitutional amendments, while many Islamic groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, have been campaigning for a “Yes” vote.

The military declared that it will be in charge for six months or until the presidential elections, which could take more than six months.