(MENA) – The Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated Thursday that voting in the referendum on the constitution for Egyptians abroad will proceed as planned on 8 December until 11 December 2012. Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Ali El-Esheiry was quoted by pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat as saying that the ministry has taken all the necessary measures for the referendum to take place on time, as per the orders of the Supreme Committee for the Constitutional Referendum, in charge of organizing the poll. El-Esheiry's statements came shortly after approximately 204 Egyptian diplomats announced their opposition to the process going ahead. Late Wednesday, Zaghloul El-Balshi, the general secretary of the Supreme Committee for the Constitutional Referendum, resigned, less than two days after he was appointed by President Mohamed Morsi. His move came following clashes that erupted between supporters and opponents of Morsi at the presidential palace. “I will not participate in a referendum that spilled Egyptian blood,” El-Balshi said in a television interview.
