Egyptians start voting Saturday in a referendum that aims to cement the rule of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former coup leader presenting himself as a rock of stability in a turbulent region, reports BSS/AFP.
Despite protests from rights groups, the three-day plebiscite is expected to approve sweeping constitutional changes that will extend Sisi’s term until at least 2024 in the Arab world’s largest state.
Beyond that, the amendments would allow Sisi, 64, to run for another six- year term while boosting his control over the judiciary and giving the military even greater influence in political life.
The referendum bucks the trend of the region’s mini-Arab Spring, in which mass pro-democracy protests this month swept away veteran presidents in Algeria and Sudan.
Sisi made his grab for power in the turbulent years after the original Arab Spring protests of 2011 toppled long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak, who was followed in office by Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Sisi overthrew Morsi in 2013 and the following year won his first term as president. He was re- elected in March 2018 with more than 97 percent of the vote after standing virtually unopposed.
International observers slammed both elections while Sisi’s government has been widely criticised for sweeping repression of its opponents — both Islamists and secular groups.
Human Rights Watch charged the constitutional amendments aim to strengthen Sisi’s ‘authoritarian rule’, while Amnesty said that parliament, having already backed the changes, had shown a ‘complete disregard for human rights’.
For the past few weeks, Egypt’s streets have been awash in banners and billboards urging citizens to ‘do the right thing’ and vote ‘Yes’, while popular folk singers have also exhorted voters to go to the ballot box.
A muted ‘No’ campaign mounted from the diaspora and online has been thoroughly muzzled as authorities have blocked over 30,000 internet domains.
Despite the deep concerns of rights groups, Sisi has earned the support of many Egyptians and some Western powers by presenting himself as a bulwark against Islamist militancy and turmoil at a time when fighting again rages in neighbouring Libya.
