Despite 56% of Egyptians voting in favor of the contentious constitution proposed by President Mohammed Morsi’s government, in cities and villages of Dakahlia Governorate, east of Cairo—which saw high voter turnout for the first round of the referendum vote on December 15th—the majority of voters there were against the constitution.
Despite 56% of Egyptians voting in favor of the contentious constitution proposed by President Mohammed Morsi’s government, in cities and villages of Dakahlia Governorate, east of Cairo—which saw high voter turnout for the first round of the referendum vote on December 15th—the majority of voters there were against the constitution.
Shawkeyah Ahmed, a 52 year-old employee at the Ministry of Education, says: “I have voted no primarily because the constitution does not provide medical treatment for those who are unable to cover health expenses. I must submit a Poverty Certificate to get free treatment for me and my family,” she said.
“We did not get rid of the former National Party to be replaced by another with beards,” she added.
Najla Mahmoud, 33-year-old veiled woman who voted no to the constitution said, “I have read its articles and realized that it does not implement Sharia, as they claim. They simply want voters to say ‘yes’ so that Muslim Brotherhood gains control over the country,” she said adding, “I have a 5% disability, and could get neither a job nor an exceptional pension. All the promises made by President Morsi have been elusive.”
Sara Banna, a 28-year-old housewife, also voted no, she says, because “the constitution marginalizes woman and all political forces in the Constituent Assembly. It was hastily prepared, while it should have been given more time.”
Villages vote ‘yes’
Hundreds of voters have been mobilized by the Freedom and Justice Party in the city of El-Senbellawein and neighboring villages and transferred by minibuses and tuk-tuks to committee headquarters in the early morning of the referendum in order to vote yes.
Aida Abdulmoneim, a female worker from Tanbul village, says: “I have voted yes, in support of stability and implementing the law of God. We have greatly fallen behind because we are far away from Islam and its teachings.”
Yasser Abdou, a worker, said he voted yes although he didn’t belong to the Brotherhood “because the constitution links incentives to production, a demand we have always aspired to.”
Salafists divided
The Salafist current in Dakahlia has been divided about voting on the constitution, leading to clashes among members of the Salafist Front before the Sharia Association on the eve of the referendum. Ahmed Naqib, the founder of Salafist Academy in Dakahlia – the first Academy that issues accredited certificates for promotion of Salafi ideology in the Egyptian governorates – has called upon the Salafist Front members to vote against the constitution because “Its preamble and many of its articles violate Sharia. The presence of the Salafists at the Constituent Assembly was supposed to be a real guarantee to ensure the drafting of a constitution that promotes Sharia, but surprisingly the endorsement of the articles were not made in a legal or democratic way. They were based on consensus rather than on majority voting.”
Naqib calls for the separation between the abrogation of the constitution and pushing the country’s wheel of construction and development forward, and also for a comprehensive dialogue that is based on consensus and a one that considers Sharia. He also called for carrying out a thorough investigation about the parties responsible for the recent incidents near the presidential palace.
On the other hand, Hazem Shoman, a famous Salafi preacher and founder of the ‘Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice Committee’ in Mansoura, called on all Muslims and citizens to vote yes.
“Although the constitution does not support an aspired pure Islamic project,” he says, “some articles implement Sharia, which can be further enhanced in the years ahead. Voting in favor of the constitution ensures stability, Egypt’s integrity, and an end to sedition.”
