CAIRO (Update 6) - Hordes of Egyptians flocked to the polling stations on Saturday, eager to vote in a referendum on constitutional amendments which will determine the near future of their country, after the fall of long-serving President Hosni Mubarak's regime. Voters were asked to vote yes or no to the eleven proposed amendments drafted by a judicial committee appointed by the country's military rulers, who have pledged to hold early elections. An Egyptian Gazette exit poll run in only of the nation's 29 governorates gave a slight majority to the 'yes' camp, although there were a few electors who refused to disclose which way they'd voted. "I believe it's useless to say how I voted. We'll know the result in a few hours' time. What is important for me is to participate to feel the change," said Naglaa Abdel-Ghaffar, 31, as she cast her ballot in the Governorate of el-Qaliubia, north of Cairo. Voters emerged from the polling stations with ink-stained fingers to prove they'd cast their ballots. The voting paper presented them with the full list of amendments and the choices of 'Agree' or 'Don't agree'. The voters were divided between those who say the Constitution needs a complete rewrite and others who argue that the amendments will suffice for now and a new constitution can be written later. Most political parties, including Al-Wafd and Tagammu, as well as youth activists, who spearheaded the January 25 Revolution, urged people to reject the amendments. Such powers, backed by liberals and political figures, said they were afraid the amendments could create a new dictator. "Forming a new constitution is easier and fairer. It's not a problem to make a constitution complying to the demands of the Revolution," said el-Sayyed el-Badawi, the head of Al-Wafd Party. The Muslim Brotherhood, supported by other Islamist currents and the remnants of the formerly ruling National Democratic Party, campaigned strongly for the amendments to be passed. "This is freedom and democracy. Indeed, this is Islam," Mohamed Badie, the group's leader, told journalists after casting his vote. "The people are the source of sovereignty." Not without irregularities
The polling stations opened at 8am (06:00 GMT), staying open, in most areas, till 7pm, while in some others the presiding judges extended the opening time, due to an unprecedented turnout. The results are expected tomorrow, according to a member of the judicial panel involved in running the referendum. However, the polls were marred by several irregularities, although most human rights groups and NGOs said these wouldn't affect the final result. The Egyptian Alliance for Observing the Elections, one of these NGO, said in a press release that the two prominent irregularities were, firstly, the Brotherhood's using banners on which were written "Say yes to be with Allah' in most governorates outside the polling stations and, secondly, the use of unstamped ballot papers. "The Brotherhood used religious mottoes to press for endorsing the amendments. That was very clear. However, in some cases, the soldiers stopped them," read the release, a copy of which was obtained by The Egyptian Gazette. It added that, in some areas, CDs with a sermon of veteran cleric Mohamed Hassan calling for voters to say yes were distributed to voters. The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) also noticed the ballot papers were not stamped, as the judicial panel ordered the judges to sign them. "Signing the papers was a good initiative, although some judges refused to sign them at first," said Hafez Abu Seda, the head of the EOHR, adding that the irregularities wouldn't fundamentally affect the final result. Some other groups cited delays in opening the polling stations, the absence of judges, phosphoric fluid and curtains, as well as the fact that the ballot papers were not enough in some areas. Representatives of the European embassies in Cairo monitored the polls in most Cairo areas. However, none of them was seen in other governorates. A carnival for democracy
While Prime Minister Essam Sharaf asked for permission from voters who queued outside a polling station in Doqqi to cast his ballot without having to queue himself, a scuffle erupted between Cairo Governor Abdel-Azim Wazir and his bodyguard on one side and voters on the other because he jumped the queue. "Today is a carnival for democracy and the fruit of the sacred January 25 Revolution. I'm sorry. I'm so busy, so please let me cast my vote," said Sharaf, who refused to disclose which way he voted. In most polling stations, Cairo and other governorates, voters with special needs, the aged and women were given priority. Mohamed ElBaradei, a former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog and a potential presidential candidate, was allegedly stoned by some voters in el-Moqattam, where he wanted to cast his ballot. The electors, mostly sporting long beards, shouted "We don't want him", as his supporters shouted back "We want him". ElBaradei was jostled after joining a queue of people seeking to vote. He then returned to his car and stones were hurled. Monitored by 17,000 judges, up to 45 million citizens were eligible to vote in the referendum in more than 54,000 polling stations across the nation, according to the judicial committee. Voters aged 18 years or older were allowed to cast their ballots using just their National ID cards, opening the door to many Egyptians who do not have special voting cards that were mandatory in previous elections. The Army said it would deploy 37,000 soldiers to help the police secure the streets.
