• Egypt approves new constitution - parliamentary elections within three months
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[img]http://imgkk.com/i/u_-x.jpg[/img] [url]http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/20121222235450446212.html[/url] [quote=AJE]Early indications show that Egyptians have approved a new draft constitution after a final round of voting in a referendum, despite opposition criticism of the measure as divisive. An official from the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, which backs President Mohamed Morsi, said on Saturday that after nearly 4 million votes had been counted there was a majority of 74 percent in favour of the constitution. Exit polls from the opposition National Salvation Front also showed the constitution passing, an official said. Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Cairo, said that early indications are the that the draft constitution will be approved. "It appears at the moment that in the region of 68 percent of voters have approved the draft constitution, some 32 percent have voted against," said Hanna, adding that only 35 percent of Egypt's roughly 50 million eligible voters turned out for the poll. The referendum committee may not declare official poll results until Monday, after hearing appeals. The December 15 [url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/20121218194411785236.html]first round[/url] returned 57 percent in favour of the constitution, according to unofficial data. The vote was split over two days as many judges refused to supervise the ballot. Backers of Morsi say the constitution is vital to move to democracy, nearly two years after a revolution that overthrew authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak. It will provide stability for a weak economy, they say. But the opposition accuses Morsi of pushing through a text that they claim favours Islamists and ignores the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population, as well as women. [B]Vice president resigns[/B] Egypt's vice president has announced his resignation on the day of a referendum on a new constitution, state TV reported. Mahmoud Mekki's resignation on Saturday was announced just hours before the end of voting in the second and final round of a referendum on the constitution. Fifty-eight-year-old Mekki, a career judge, said that he intended to quit once the charter was adopted. The new constitution eliminates the post of vice president. However, a statement by Mekki read on state TV hinted that the motive of his hurried departure could be linked to Morsi's policies. "I have realised a while ago that the nature of politics don't suit my professional genesis as a judge," he wrote. Mekki led judicial opposition against Mubarak, but eschewed calls to become a presidential candidate himself, saying he wished to stay politically independent. Egypt's Central Bank chief also reportedly resigned on Saturday, state television reported, before later citing a cabinet source denying that he had stepped down. State television reported that Faruq El-Okd, the bank's head since 2003, might be replaced by his former deputy, Hisham Ramez. Okd has had a central role in shoring up the value of the pound as well as playing a critical role in the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a $4.1bn loan which Egypt is attempting to secure. [B]Unrest aniticapted[/B] If the charter is approved, the opposition says it is a recipe for trouble since it will not have received sufficiently broad backing and that it will not have been a fair vote. "I see more unrest," said Ahmed Said, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party and a member of the National Salvation Front, an opposition coalition formed after Mursi expanded his powers on November 22 and then pushed the constitution to a vote. Protesters accused the president of acting like a pharaoh, and he was forced to issue a second decree two weeks ago that amended a provision putting his decisions above legal challenge. Said cited "[url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/201212179859603746.html]serious violations[/url]" on the first day of voting, and said anger against Morsi was growing. "People are not going to accept the way they are dealing with the situation." At least eight people were killed in protests outside the presidential palace in Cairo this month. Government supporters and opposition protesters hurled stones at each other [url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/20121221114515756157.html]on Friday[/url] in Alexandria, where two buses were torched. Late on Saturday, Morsi announced the names of 90 new members he had appointed to the upper house of parliament, state media reported, and a presidential official said the list was mainly liberals and other non-Islamists. The president's main opponents from liberal, socialist and other parties said they had refused to take any seats. Two-thirds of the 270-member upper house was elected in a vote early this year, with one third appointed by the president.[/quote]
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