A polarized Egypt heads to the polls for vote on constitution

"I will vote no because there is too much authority for the president and women have no rights," said Mahamud Afifi, 60, a retired military officer waiting in line at a polling station tucked into a block of apartment buildings in the Saeda Zeinab area of Cairo. "There's going to be more sectarian divisions with people because of this charter, and for this I blame the president."

"You should not call him the president, you should call him the prince!" interrupted Watani Abdel Wahed, 63, a hospital technician.

"You haven't even read the constitution!" shouted Ashraf Amin, 50, a soccer coach standing near the two men, who said he would vote yes. Although he had concerns about certain articles in the draft charter, Amin said he trusted that Morsi would work with opposition forces to amend the document once it passed. Like many Egyptians, his main interest was getting beyond the turbulent transition phase.

"People are voting yes because they believe it's the best for the country," Amin said.

Voting was to take place across 10 provinces that include Cairo and most of Egypt's other urban areas; the rest will vote next Saturday.

The Islamists who back the draft charter and the loose coalition of liberals, leftists and Christians that opposes it were scrambling Friday to mobilize supporters. Most analysts said the superior organization of the Muslim Brotherhood would probably deliver a critical victory for Morsi, who was a longtime leader of the Islamist movement and has called on Egyptians to approve the document, which was largely drafted by his allies.

But few here believe that the vote will do anything to heal the political divisions that have exploded into deadly street clashes in recent days. On Friday, protesters armed with swords and stones battled in Alexandria, and at least 19 people were injured. Rival demonstrations in Cairo were tense but relatively peaceful.

The prospect of a "yes" vote on the charter has particularly enraged the young, secular Egyptians who were at the heart of the revolution early last year that drove out Mubarak. Since then, they have been consistently outmaneuvered by the Islamists, who belatedly joined them in the streets during the revolution.

Islamists have triumphed in parliamentary and presidential votes, and a third win is likely to further sour secular revolutionaries on the democratic process they fought and died for. At an opposition protest Friday, many were calling the vote illegitimate and promising to continue their campaign in the streets, regardless of what happens with the referendum.

Source: http://www.news.theusalinks.com/2012/12/15/a-polarized-egypt-heads-to-the-polls-for-vote-on-constitution/