Middle East News

Egyptians vote in favour of constitutional amendments

Mar 20, 2011, 17:45 GMT

Cairo - About 77 per cent of Egyptians voted in favour of constitutional changes that are set to ease restrictions on who can run for president and set term limits on the presidency, the High Judicial Commission of the Referendum said Sunday.

More than 18.5 million people voted on Saturday, observers said, in the first public poll since Hosny Mubarak was toppled as president five weeks ago.

This was an estimated 41 per cent of the 45 million eligible voters, which made for an unprecedented turnout in the country in the past 50 years.

Barely 6 million people voted in November's parliamentary elections, which were marred with allegations of fraud and voter irregularities.

Earlier Sunday, US ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey hailed the vote as an important step towards realizing the aspirations of the January 25 revolution.

'The sight of Egyptians coming forward in unprecedented numbers to peacefully exercise their newly won freedoms is cause for great optimism, and will provide a foundation for further progress as Egyptians continue to build their democratic future,' she said in a statement.

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