Egypt's opposition fears for future as constitutional amendments pass
Egyptian activists criticized the integrity of a recent referendum vote that saw the passing of a constitutional amendment to extend the president's term to 2030.
Egypt's pro-government media celebrated the results of a referendum on sweeping constitutional amendments that would allow President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to remain in power until 2030 and entrench the military's authority. Yet opponents of the constitutional "reforms" reacted with dismay, frustration and a great deal of skepticism.
There was no doubt that voters would overwhelmingly approve the controversial constitutional changes, as the referendum lacked guarantees of being "free and fair," according to Transparency International. Yet the announcement by the National Election Authority on April 23 that nearly 90% of voters had backed the amendments dealt a heavy blow to the nearly 3 million citizens who had rejected them at the ballot box and an unknown number of others who boycotted the vote. Many activists expressed their grievances on social media, calling the referendum "null and void" and complaining that citizen participation in the vote had been "coerced."
"The results are not surprising — even if the vote was monitored by the most assiduously careful set of national and international observers, the environment in which these amendments were voted on was hardly conducive to an informed choice," tweeted H.A. Hellyer, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
Not only was the vote rushed — coming just three days after parliament approved the revisions — but the government also went to great lengths to suppress dissent ahead of the vote. Two artists who had spoken out about their rejection of the constitutional changes were branded as "traitors" by the pro-government media and expelled from the actors' union, the very state body entrusted with protecting actors' rights.
