AL AHRAM, MASRAWY (Egypt)
CAIRO – The very first Egyptians, those residing abroad, began casting their ballots Wednesday to say “yes” or “no” for the country’s new Constitution.
They will have until Saturday to either send their voting card by post or present themselves in the voting bureaus in voting offices in their respective embassies, Al Ahram reported.
The Egyptian embassy in New Zealand was the first to open its doors to voters, with the embassy in Los Angeles set to be the last to receive them.
The voting card sent to Egyptians. Blue is for “Yes,” Brown “No” to new Constitution
After a night of protests against the Constitution, the National Front for Saving Egypt, which is composed of the prominent opposition figures such as El Baradei, Amr Moussa and Hamdin Sabbahi, called voters to vote “no” and discouraged them from boycotting the referendum.
According to Masrawy, the spokesman of the Front condemned the decision of the High Commission for Elections to extend the vote to two rounds, insisting on having a one-time vote, as a condition for considering the process legitimate.
Some 586,000 Egyptians are expected to vote, as the electoral lists did not change since the presidential elections last spring. Article 10 of the law on political rights forbids any change on the lists after citizens have been called to vote.
