Unofficial results released after the second and final phase of the constitutional referendum showed the charter passed with about 64 percent of the vote, according to a tally by the Muslim Brotherhood posted on the group’s website. Official results are expected tomorrow, the state-run Ahram newspaper reported.
Turnout in the second round was about 33 percent, according to unofficial figures, roughly the same as the first phase on Dec. 15. The showing reflects Egyptians’ weariness with the country’s halting transition to democracy that has seen President Mohamed Mursi’s supporters locked in often violent confrontations with rival protesters.
“For voting for a founding document like a constitution, a low turnout is a major problem because it shows that there isn’t a broad public buy-in,” Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar, said by phone today. While the Muslim Brotherhood “can now claim more of a mandate,” the turnout “undermines the final results to some extent.”
Parliamentary Vote
Mursi’s supporters maintain that the push to approve the charter is key to restoring order in the Arab world’s most populous nation as it struggles with a faltering economy, high unemployment and a flight of foreign capital.
The next step is to hold elections for the lower house of parliament, which was disbanded by court order earlier this year. Mursi issued a presidential decree late yesterday naming members to the upper house, normally a consultative body, which will have temporary legislative authority once the charter is adopted.
The president’s critics, including secular groups, minority Christians and youth activists argue the charter is not representative of Egypt’s diverse interests and would further enshrine Islamic law and infringe on freedoms.
The premium investors demand to hold Egyptian debt over similar-maturity U.S. securities has climbed 44 basis points, or 0.44 of a percentage point, to 452 since Mursi sparked the constitutional dispute Nov. 22 by granting himself extra powers.
Risky Borrower
The cost of protecting the country’s debt against default for five years surged to 490, according to CMA, which is owned by McGraw-Hill Cos. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market. That ranks it among the 10 riskiest borrowers in the world, ahead of Iraq and Lebanon. Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 Index of stocks closed down 1.5 percent today.
The adoption of the constitution provides a “historic opportunity to reunite the national forces on the basis of mutual respect and genuine dialogue aimed at the stability of the homeland,” the Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, said in a statement on its Facebook page.
The National Salvation Front, an umbrella group, said in a statement the results reflected “rigging and violations” that marred the referendum. The vote “is not the end of the road,” it said. “It is only a battle in the long fight over the future of Egypt. We will never allow the changing of Egypt’s identity or the return of tyranny.”
‘Democratic Means’
The front said it will continue to use “democratic means to change this constitution,” adding that Egyptians confronted the Islamists in the referendum and will do so again in the upcoming election to “make clear to them that the era of misleading people in the name of religion has ended.”
Vice President Mahmoud Mekki resigned late yesterday, citing a conflict between politics and his profession as a judge. His departure comes amid a series of challenges to Mursi, who has already seen several of his advisers quit in the past month. Khalil el-Anani, a Middle East scholar at Durham University in England, described Mekki’s decision as a “big blow” to the president.
Mursi’s “credibility and legitimacy are becoming increasingly questioned, which means, with the current volatile situation and political polarization, more instability for the country,” el-Anani said in a phone interview.
The economy has struggled to rebound from last year’s uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak, pressured by frequent strikes, civil strife and the country’s divisive politics. International reserves are down to about $15 billion, more than 50 percent below their levels before the uprising, even after injections of cash from Qatar.
Missed Opportunity
For many Egyptians like Ehab el-Menoufi, a 35-year-old teacher, the distressed economy, Mursi’s decision to push through the constitution and what he sees as government mismanagement are reasons not to vote for Islamists again.
“They had an opportunity, and the only thing they’ve shown so far is they want power,” he said in an interview in Cairo.
Further confusion was created yesterday when a report by state television that central bank Governor Farouk El-Okdah had resigned was swiftly denied by the Cabinet in an e-mailed statement. The central bank chief again denied the report today in comments to reporters.
The unofficial results from the second round showed that 71 percent of voters approved the charter, according to the Brotherhood website today. In the first round of the poll on Dec. 15, initial results showed 57 percent voted “yes.”
Sanaa Shawky, a 57-year-old doctor, said she believes the vote would bring stability. “Things will settle down once the constitution is adopted and parliamentary elections are held,” she said in the Greater Cairo neighborhood of Mohandesin yesterday. “It’s about time we all started working,” said the woman who aimed to vote “yes.”
Hamid said the opposition will now have to change tactics. “Once the constitution is passed, there isn’t a lot you can do through street action,” he said “With the attention on the parliamentary election, you cannot really afford to spend all your time on street action.”
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Bloomberg-Businessweek
