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Egypt's Constitutional Referendum

(Jerusalem Post) Zvi Mazel - 98% of Egyptian voters approved the new constitution in a referendum, giving Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the legitimacy he needed, not only in Egypt but in the West that had claimed getting rid of the Muslim Brotherhood regime and its elected president was an unacceptable military coup. The overwhelming "yes" vote was a clarion call for Sisi to run for president. However, Sisi has good reason to worry. He had hoped for a bigger turnout to demonstrate the broad basis of his popular support. He got 38.6%. That is better than the 32.8% who came out for the referendum held on the Muslim Brothers' constitution two years ago, a constitution that was approved by 62%. The Brotherhood and its allies boycotted the referendum, while the al-Dawa al-Salafiya movement, which through its Nour party garnered 23% of the vote in the 2012 parliamentary elections, called on Egyptians to vote "yes" in the referendum. Meanwhile, in the Sinai Peninsula, the army is slowly gaining the upper hand, though it will probably not be able to eradicate the terrorists. In recent months the army has inflicted heavy losses on the insurgents. The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt.
2014-01-21 00:00:00
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