CAIRO (Halbeeg News) – Egyptians have started voting on constitutional amendments that would allow President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to stay in power until 2030.
Polls opened on Saturday at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT). Voting will stretch over a period of three days to allow maximum turnout.
Casting his ballot on Saturday, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly urged voters to turn out in high numbers.
He said that voting will reflect “the atmosphere of stability and democracy that we are witnessing now.”
The state-run TV said al-Sissi had cast his vote in Cairo’s Heliopolis district, nearby the presidential palace.
Heavy police and army security was reported at polling stations throughout the capital city and across the country.
The referendum came amid an unprecedented crackdown on dissent in recent years.
Al-Sissi’s government has arrested thousands of people, most of them members of outlawed Muslim Brotherhood but also prominent secular activists, and rolled back freedoms won in a 2011 pro-democracy uprising.
The amendments will allow the president to appoint top judges and bypass judiciary oversight in vetting draft legislation, while also granting military courts broader jurisdiction in trying civilians.
The amendments also introduce one or more vice presidents, revive the Senate and enshrine a 25% quota for women in parliament’s lower, legislative chamber.
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