Relieved, shocked, depressed, frustrated and wondering what's next are the most common reactions to Saturday's ballot. Despite the long queues outside some polling stations, the turnout was around 30 per cent, according to unofficial reports, a percentage that “may" reflect frustration that has taken its grip on many people, one activist said. “I've never heard of a referendum being held in two rounds. This must be a joke," Mohamed Said, a co-founder of Al-Dustour (Constitution) Party, told the Egyptian Mail. After weeks of deadly clashes between Islamists, who back President Mohamed Morsi, and liberal revolutionaries, the first round of a referendum on the country's charter was held in ten governorates, where 26 million people are eligible to vote. Roughly 7 million cast their ballots, according to preliminary figures. “I said ‘No' as this new constitution gives the President of the country more authorities. How come the head of the executive authority appoints chiefs of watchdog bodies that supervise his own performance?" Said wondered, referring to Article 202 of the new constitution, which gives the President the right to appoint heads of supervisory agencies. More than 40 per cent of voters said ‘No' to the charter amid allegations of ‘vote rigging' from the opposition. “It is natural to have some violations, but they won't seriously affect the results. They are human errors and nothing more," says Moustafa Taha, a member of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. “Egyptians want stability, therefore they are saying ‘Yes'. Last year, they said ‘Yes' too. And the result is that we have the first freely elected President in history," Taha adds, referring to the referendum on March 19, 2011. Liberal powers fear that this referendum will be reminiscent of the March 19 referendum, when 77.2 per cent of Egyptians voted ‘Yes' to nine amendments to the constitution and Islamists used religion to persuade the man in the street to say ‘Yes'. “Of course everyone has the right to express their own political views. But I don't understand why some people say ‘No' to the best constitution in Egypt's history and the whole world," Taha argues, naming a few countries like the United Kingdom and the United States when asked if he has read other constitutions. Why does he say this, when the UK does not even have a written constitution? Egypt has had five constitutions since 1882 when Khedive Tawfiq endorsed the country's first charter. Different constitutions were drafted in 1923, 1930, 1954 and 1971. The most balanced was written in 1954 by a panel headed by late constitutionalist Abdel-Razeq el-Sanhouri, says Ibrahim Fawzi, a member of Revolutionary Youth Coalition. “Late President Gamal Abdel-Nasser rejected el-Sanhouri's charter, but it remains the finest in this country's political history," he adds. Islamists claim that opponents of the new constitution resent the Sharia [Islamic Law]. But liberals say the Sharia is not a reason for rejecting the charter, citing “vague and elastic" descriptions of the sources of the Sharia and its interpretations. The principles of the Sharia are the main source of legislation, but Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of Islamic learning, is to be consulted on Sharia-related issues. “No-one is against the Sharia. I will say ‘No' next week, as I believe this charter may usher in another pharaoh. Egypt deserves a better constitution that secures democracy and social justice after the January 25 Revolution," Fawzi adds.
