By Jaime Ortega.
Cairo– Early Tuesday ,on the eve of the opening of polling stations , there was an explosion in the neighborhood of Imbaba humble. More than 52 million Egyptians are invited to help write a constitutional referendum thanks to Abdelfatah to Sisi, the military leader who is likely to get endorsed in the presidential race.
Clashes between supporters of the ousted Mohamed Mursi and local enforcements have resulted in eleven dead . Four in the province of Sohag , in southern Colombia , three in Nahia , an Islamist stronghold in the outskirts of the capital district of Giza, two in Cairo and one in the provinces of Beni Suef and Giza .
Mohamed Ali , an employee of a property off the court North Giza said,” It was about half past six when I felt something like a small earthquake . Within seconds the smoke reached the restaurant ,” Dozens of people have gathered outside the building while local operational firefighters tried to remove the damage caused to the facade.
According to the Interior Ministry , a team of deminers are working to try to determine if the outbreak is due to an artifact. The incident caused damage inside the court and nearby buildings, but caused no injuries . The event has attracted the attention of neighbors , which have been chanting slogans against the Muslim Brothers , who blame the alleged attack and support the army.
” What do they want with these attacks and what would they achieve destroying the court ?I Have no fear . We have to go outside and say yes to the constitution and ask Al Sisi that he becomes our president ” Mohamed Abla pointed out , a woman who , like other passers – held a sign with the face of Al Sisi , the commander in chief of the armed forces who impeached the Islamists from power last July.
The government is seeking a wide victory of ‘yes’
The more than 30,000 polling stations spread across the country and opened their doors early morning till 9pm. The authorities have appointed a second election day tomorrow, Wednesday . The interim government seeks high participation and a wide victory of ‘yes’ to legitimize the road map drawn up by the military to boost the career of Al Sisi as the next president.
The Muslim Brotherhood and similar groups have called to boycott the referendum and protests, but have asked their acolytes to ” stay away from the polling stations .” At least one person has died in clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted Mursi around a polling station in the province of Beni Suef, south of Cairo.
The campaign for ‘no’, championed by the small secular dissent, has had little echo. And many Egyptians are keen to secure a voting spot, showing little interested in the Islamic Brotherhood.
“It’s the best way to protect the country from the harsh attacks it receives from the European Union, the USA , Turkey , Qatar and Hamas ,” A indicated Ali, as he waited his turn. Authorities have lassoing an imposing security deployment consisting of 160,000 military and 200,000 agents, including special forces and paratroopers. The “big brother” will be backed by armored vehicles , helicopters and military planes to monitor the desert routes to abort any attacks.
The day is also marked by the announcement the day before to the boycott of a moderate Islamist party . In protest against the arrest last week of seven militants, Strong Egypt- party founded by former leader of the Brotherhood Abdelmoneim Abulfutuh yesterday – has joined the boycott. ” It has prevented us from carrying out the campaign for ‘no.’ How do you hold a referendum with this atmosphere of repression ? ” Denounced WORLD spokesman Ahmed Imam.
