• MB News
  • March 27, 2007
  • 16 minutes read

Mursi: Passing Constitutional Amendments Worse Than 1967 Defeat

Counselor Mamdouh Marie, the Egyptian Justice Minister, said on Tuesday that the approval on the constitutional amendments in Monday referendum reached 75.9 %, while the turnout was 27.1 % of all registered voters (36 million).


Marie said, in a press conference: “The turnout in the referendum reached about 9,701,000. Of those, 7,172,436 approved the constitutional amendments, while 2,276,738 (24.1%) voted against the amendments.”


These figures contradict those declared by independent observers in the referendum process; they confirmed that the turn out was no more than 3 %, while some optimistic estimates put the turnout at about 10 %. This shows the success of the calls for boycott by the Egyptian opposition, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, and proves that all government methods to provide a high turnout for the referendum failed. These methods included the government initiation to mobilize employees to vote “Yes” in exchange for bribes and presents, and the rigging of the voting boxes and stuffing extra ballot papers in many constituencies.


For his part, Dr. Mohamed Mursi, a Muslim Brotherhood executive bureau member, said in a statement to Ikhwanweb: “the security bodies’ unjustified measures, that lead to restricting freedoms and suppressing the efforts of those who want to participate positively in the political process, aim first and foremost at aiding the ruling National Democratic party to extend its domination over the political scene without any partner. Our homeland needs collective efforts, which we wanted to see applied practically in the constitutional amendments.”


Mursi added that what happened on the day of the referendum was worse than the 1967 defeat that Egypt faced. There was a scandalous forgery to the will of the Egyptian people. All human rights organizations, civil society institutions and satellite channels, in addition to reports of independent observers nationwide, confirm that the turnout is at best no more than 5 %; a sheer contrast to the Justice Minister’s fake 27.1 % turnout.


 


Dr. Mursi said that he expects more political tension as a result of giving the police state a constitutional justification to violate private and public freedoms, establishing an everlasting rule for the National Democratic Party, and losing any hope of seeing a power transition. This is in addition to legalizing the looting of personal wealth, forging people’s will, and dealing a deathblow to any citizen’s feeling of patriotism.


 


Dr Mursi confirmed that this retreat will also lead to a decrease in development. The control of the executive authority over justice and the police’s iron grip over the judiciary will definitely lead to smuggling money and driving investments abroad. Mursi highlights the serious legislations that will be drafted after passing the amendments, including sidelining most Egyptians and restricting entering parliament and participating in the political process to parties which are recognized by the regime- which account for only 3%- whereas the other 97% will be sidelined .


 


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