Egypt's Supreme Election Commission regarded the claims of fraud and violation in the constitution referendum raised by opposition as baseless and non-objective, Counselor Mahmoud Abou Shoosha, a commission member, told reporters during a press conference Tuesday.

Condemning violation and fraud claims as "lies," Abou Shoosha said that the voting was based on the voters' national ID number that was impossible to be duplicated and that the referendum was held under full judicial supervision.

The first stage of Egypt's constitutional referendum was held Saturday in 10 governorates including Cairo and Alexandria, and the second and final stage is slated for Dec. 22 covering the other 17 governorates.

The initial results show that 56 percent voted for the draft constitution whereas 44 percent were against it.

Egyptian expatriates concluded voting in the referendum Monday evening. Most of Egyptians in Western countries such as the United States, Britain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium voted against the new draft constitution, just like those living in liberal Arab states such as Lebanon, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates.

The newly-formed opposition bloc dubbed "the National Salvation Front" highlighted claims of violations during the referendum while the pro-constitution Islamists strongly denied them.

"The violations include duplication of voting cards, vote buying, deliberate delay of opening polling stations and attempts to affect the will of voters before casting their votes," Amr Hamzawy, head of liberal Egypt Freedom Party and a leading member of the National Salvation Front, told Xinhua.

In contrast, supporters of the newly-written draft constitution, mostly Islamists and conservatives, described the violations and irregularities raised by the Front as "fake and politically motivated."

The Front urged massive nationwide protests Tuesday against alleged fraud in the constitutional referendum.

Thousands of protestors are already marching to the Tahrir Square while others are scheduled to head to the presidential palace and the headquarters of the Supreme Election Commission in Cairo.

The Front believed that the draft constitution was written by an Islamist-dominated constituent assembly to serve only President Mohamed Morsi and his Islamist supporters. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)