CAIRO (AA) – A major pro-democracy bloc on Tuesday claimed rigging marred the first day of a referendum on a revised version of Egypt's 2012 suspended constitution.
"Rigging, which had prevailed under [toppled president] Hosni Mubarak, has returned again," the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy said in a statement.
It cited mass voting, arrest of human rights activists and turning polling centers into military barracks as main features of the first day of voting.
The alliance, which is boycotting the vote, gave no details about the claims.
But the claim was dismissed by activists and observes, who argued that the voting saw minor violations that do not undermine the integrity of the process.
Tareq Saad, an official in the Administrative Development Ministry, said that state-of-the-art technology is being used to expose rigging and prevent multiple voting.
"There is cooperation between all executive bodies to secure the polling stations and guarantee the integrity of the voting process," he said.
The constitutional referendum is the first step of an army-imposed transitional roadmap following its ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi in July.
The plan also calls for fresh presidential and parliamentary elections sometime this year.
- Polling stations close for 1st day ofEgypt constitution vote
Polling stations closed at 9pm on Tuesday for the first day of a referendum on amendments toEgypt's 2012 suspended constitution.
Egyptian voters had lined up outside polling stations nationwide since the morning.
Some voters carried posters of Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the man widely seen as the architect of elected president Mohamed Morsi's ouster by the army this summer. Others waved Egyptian flags.
Pro-army songs, played out of local shops, filled the air around polling centers.
In many areas of the capital, female voters stood in long lines to cast their ballots.
Many carried posters of the country's top general, while others carried placards reading "Yes to the Constitution."
Around 53 million Egyptians are eligible to cast ballots at some 30,600 polling centers nationwide.
The constitutional vote – Egypt's first poll since Morsi's July 3 ouster – is being held amid massive security.
The army has deployed some 160,000 soldiers and officers to secure the balloting, while the Interior Ministry has deployed around 220,000 policemen.
The two-day referendum is being monitored by 68 local and international organizations, according to Egypt's High Electoral Commission.
Constitutional amendment is the first step of an army-imposed transitional roadmap that also calls for presidential and parliamentary elections sometime this year.
The army-installed interim administration has been campaigning for a massive turnout to show popular support for the roadmap.
The pro-democracy National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy has called for boycotting the vote and urgedEgyptians to join mass protests against the charter.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the group which propelled Morsi to power, is also boycotting the referendum and has voiced fears about fraud and vote rigging by the army-installed interim authorities.
By Islam Mosaad
englishnews@aa.com.tr
