London, Jan. 16: More than half of Egypt’s eligible voters have cast their ballots in a referendum on a draft constitution that marks the first major step in the country’s military-backed transition to democracy.
According to the provisional counts from most of Egypt’s 27 provinces, almost 98 percent of the voters were in favor of the new document, the Telegraph.co.uk reports.
The banned Muslim Brotherhood had called for a boycott of the vote, meaning approval of the constitution was widely expected, and attention focused on voter numbers.
The military-backed government said that the referendum is aimed at restoring democracy after the army’s ouster of president Mohamed Morsi.
