Egyptians back new draft constitution: initial results

Egyptians have overwhelmingly backed a new secular constitution with initial results of a referendum today showing support for the draft, a development that could clear the way for a presidential bid by country's powerful army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The tally, released also showed that turnout in the two-day referendum was at least modestly higher than a 2012 constitutional ballot held during the rule of deposed president Mohammed Morsi.
An unofficial tally from 25 of Egypt's 27 governorates showed that 97 per cent of voters said yes to the new constitution, with less than one per cent voting no. The remaining ballots were spoiled or otherwise invalid, Al Jazeera reported.

There are no results yet from Cairo, the country's most populous governorate, or from North Sinai. But turnout was about 38 per cent, with 17.4 million people voting, putting it ahead of 2012, when 17 million people participated, roughly 33 per cent of the registered voters.
Galal Mustafa Saeed, the governor of Cairo, said he expected turnout in the city to top 40 per cent.
Official media hailed the outcome as an "unprecedented majority".

"Egyptians inaugurate a new history for the region," the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said.
Colonel Ahmed Ali, the army spokesman, was quoted by the state-run MENA news agency as saying, the result "confirms that Egyptians are the first free population in recorded history."

The two-day vote was the first ballot since the army overthrew Morsi on July 3, with the new constitution replacing a 2012 one drafted during his short-lived presidency.
Although there there were no reports of violence yesterday, at least 11 people were killed in clashes across the country on Tuesday, and a bomb damaged a courthouse in Cairo's Imbaba neighbourhood two hours before polls opened.
The new constitution, like its predecessor, allows the military to prosecute civilians for attacks on army personnel or institutions.
Official results from the two-day referendum are expected to be out by Saturday.
Government sources said interim President Adly Mansour will then issue a decree "within days" to schedule presidential and parliamentary elections, both planned for the first half of this year.

The new charter, drafted by a liberal-dominated committee appointed by the military-backed government, would ban political parties based on religion, give women equal rights and protect the status of minority Christians.