Clashes between security forces and pro-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators leave five dead on first day of voting in Egypt's constitution referendum - the first electoral test since Mohamed Morsi's ouster in July last year 15:55 The Brotherhood-led National Alliance to Support Legitimacy (NASL) releases a statement claiming four of its members have been killed by police and that several have been arrested, including three female minors. The alliance further claims a low-turnout, accusing the ‘coup-led media' of falsely claiming the opposite. It also accuses remnants of the Mubarak regime of forging votes and bribing voters to approve the newly-amended national charter. NASL, the largest Islamist coalition, has boycotted and protested against the referendum, part of a wider resistance against the post-Morsi interim government, which it has deemed illegitimate. 15:50 Ahram Online's Sarah Rashidi notes that the Fanoon Gamila polling station in the Cairo district of Zamalek is not as crowded as it was in the morning. Amira Mohamed, who works in the real estate business, told Rashidi: "I'm voting 'yes'. I'm not 100 percent happy, but maybe this is the only way. We need the country to be stable, we just want stability in our lives." 15:50 A poll conducted in December by private polling organisation Baseera found that 59% of respondents had not read the new charter, while 36 percent had read "parts" of it. 76% of respondents said they would take part in the referendum and 74% of those said they would vote yes. 15:45 A man in his mid-thirties with a Salafist beard, who refuses to give his name, tells Ahram Online at a polling station in Haram that he voted in favour of the constitution "because the army chief said so.” 15:35 Judicial source tells Ahram Online`s Bassem Abo Alabbas that the highest turnout so far is in El-Talbeya in Giza's Haram district, particularly at a school named Om El-Abtal, which translates as ‘The Mother of Patriots'. --- Welcome to the second half of Ahram Online's live coverage of the first day of voting in Egypt's 2014 constitutional referendum. The day began with an explosion in Giza's Imbaba district, but there were no reported injuries. There have been a number of pro-Muslim Brotherhood protests across the country with five deaths reported so far. Turnout looks to be high so far, with lots of long queues reported at polling stations. This constitution is the first electoral test in the roadmap put in place by the transitional authorities that replaced Mohamed Morsi afer his ouster in July 2013. Over 52,742,139 Egyptians are registered to vote at the polls, which will be open on Tuesday and Wednesday. Egyptians living abroad have already cast their votes at embassies and consulates. Turnout was low, which the foreign ministry attributed to the scrapping of postal votes. The last time Egyptians went to the polls was in December 2012 -- to vote on a new constitution, written by an assembly that critics said was dominated by Islamists. That constitution was approved by voters, and remained in place until Morsi's ouster in July 2013, when it was suspended. The new document was drafted in the months following Morsi's exit, and finalised in December. For analysis of the differences between the previous charter and the one which Egyptians will be voting on this time round, seehere. It seems likely that the "yes" vote will be substantial; unlike last year, the "no" campaign has been almost invisible. Most liberal and leftist parties support the constitution. The Strong Egypt Party, which supported Morsi's ouster but has since criticised the transitional authorities, has condemned what it described as a "crackdown" on those campaigning for a "no" vote, and decided to boycott the poll in protest.Other groups opposed to the constitution include the National Alliance to Support Legitimacy, a Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition, which will be boycotting the vote. Polls are due to close at 8pm. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/91569.aspx
