HUMAN WRONGS WATCH

Human Wrongs Watch

By Johannes Stern, WSWS*, 17 December 2012 – On Saturday [15 December], the first round of voting on Egypt’s draft constitution took place in ten of the country’s 27 governorates, including Egypt’s two largest cities, the capital Cairo and the coastal town of Alexandria. Egypt’s remaining 17 governorates will vote on December 22.

**Mohamed Mursi. Photo credit: Marzouk113 | Wikimedia Commons.

Coming after three weeks of mass protests against Egypt’s new Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and the ruling Muslim Brotherhood (MB), the referendum was marked by low voter turnout, violence and allegations of fraud.

The conditions under which the referendum was carried out make a mockery of democracy. Over 300,000 military and police forces were reportedly deployed to secure the polling stations.

One week ago, Mursi issued a presidential decree ordering the Egyptian army to help the police protect “vital state institutions” and “maintain public order and safeguard election facilities” during the referendum.

The law essentially reintroduces emergency law and marks a first step towards the formal proclamation of military dictatorship in Egypt. It gave the military “all the powers of judicial officers,” allowing it to arrest and try civilians during the referendum.

A show of abstention was the working class’s verdict on the reactionary plans of the Egyptian bourgeoisie. Only 33 percent of 25 million eligible voters cast a vote, underlining the widening gulf separating the Egyptian political establishment and the working class.