Egyptians vote in last day of referendum
High turnout seen for proposed amendments to 2014 constitution
Cairo: Egyptians on Monday were voting in the last of three days on proposed constitutional changes that could allow President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi to stay in power until 2030.
Long lines of voters formed at several polling stations across the country from the morning hours before balloting was due to close at 9pm local time (2300 Dubai time).
Some voters fervently waved the national flag and raised portraits of Al Sissi outside polls where patriotic songs blared out of loudspeakers on parked trucks urging others to show up and vote.
Nearly 61.5 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in the referendum, the final result of which is due to be announced on April 27, according to an electoral commission.
Al Sissi took power in 2014, a year after he led the army’s ouster of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi following enormous protests against his divisive rule. Al Sissi has largely restored stability to Egypt, which experienced a wave of militant attacks after Mursi’s overthrow.
The proposed amendments to the 2014 constitution include extending the presidential term to six years instead of four, meaning that Al Sissi’s current term will end in 2024 instead of 2022.
A draft provisional article makes it possible for Al Sissi to run for another six-year term.
The current constitution has a two-term cap for the head of the state.