Most prominent scenes from referendum on constitutional amendments

CAIRO - 23 April 2019: For three consecutive days, the polling stations witnessed a huge voters'turnout in the referendum on the constitutional amendments that was covered by a large number of international and local media organizations.

Egypt Today highlights the most significant scenes from the referendum on the constitutional amendments:

Egyptian female expats vote in referendum on constitutional amendments

Egyptian women voting in the referendum on constitutional amendments in Saudi Arabia. April 19, 2019. Press Photo

Egyptian female expats made up a remarkable portion of the turnout at embassies worldwide to cast their ballots in the referendum on draft constitutional amendments.

Disabled people vote in referendum on constitutional amendments

Many disabled people have been seen casting their vote in the referendum – Press photo

Many disabled people were seen casting their votes in the referendum on constitutional amendments, which if approved, will significantly expand the president's authority and extend presidential terms to six years instead of four.

Ashraf Sobhi, the minister of youth, said that the participation of the disabled people in the referendum reflects the ministry's success to reach and integrate them into the society.

Voters in Badr City form 'longest' queue on referendum's 2nd day

FILE - Queues of voters lined up outside polling stations in Giza to vote in referendum - Photo by Karim Abdel Aziz/Egypt Today

A very long queue of citizens was seen before the polling station of El-Ferdaous Secondary School in Cairo's Badr City to vote on theproposed constitutional amendments. It is reportedly the longest queue seen so far on the second day of the referendum.

NEA to print Braille ballot papers for 1st time in referendum

FILE – Person’s hand reading braille language - Reuters

The blind voters were able to cast their ballot secretly for the first time, as the National Election Authority printed Braille ballot papers, Mahmoud al-Sherif, deputy head of the NEA said.

Braille allows blind people and those who have low vision to read documents through touching raised dots representing the letters of alphabet.

In December 2017, “Alashan Tbneeha” (To Build It), a former campaign that backed President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, issued forms in Braille giving blind citizens the chance to participate in demanding that Sisi runs for a second term as president of Egypt.

Armed Forces secure nearly 11K polling stations nationwide

Armed forces securing polling stations in 2019 referendum - Amr Mostafa/Egypt Today

Military Spokesman Tamer el Refai said on April 21 that the plan of the Armed Forces aimed to provide security for 10,878 polling stations during the referendum on the constitutional amendments nationwide.

He detailed in a statement that the plan has been implemented in full coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Interior under the directives of the minister of defense.
He added that the armed forces have taken all security and medical measures to facilitate the voting process, which lasted until Monday.

Ideal mother votes in favor of constitutional amendments

Ideal Mother RedaKhaled - Press photo

Reda Khaled, the ideal mother, voted in favor of the constitutional amendments in 15th of May City.

Khaled asserted that women gained unprecedented achievements in President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s era,stressing that Egyptian women regained all their stolen rights in the president's era, especially that the new constitutional amendments will offer one fourth of Parliament seats to women.

“All Egyptian women have to support Sisi in his war against terrorism, uniting to continue the journey of stability and development.Thus,we all have to vote in favor of the constitutional amendments,” Khaled said in an exclusive statement to Egypt Today.

Centenarian women seen voting on constitutional amendments

Sarriya Hassan Sorour, a 105-year-old woman participates in the referendum in Qalubiya – Press photo

Many centenarian women were seen casting their votes on the referendum on constitutional amendments which has taken place over three days ending Monday for Egyptians inside the country.

On Monday April 22, Shafika Badr, 108, cast her ballot in the referendum, inside a polling station in Menoufia's Menouf.

Meanwhile in Matrouh, a 125-year old woman cast her vote in a polling station in Sallum, east of the border with Libya on Saturday.

Outlawed Muslim Brotherhood tries to distort Egypt's referendum

Queues of voters lined up outside polling stations in Giza to vote in the referendum - Photo by Karim Abdel Aziz/Egypt Today

The electronic committees linked to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood posted fabricated photos of the ongoing referendum on the constitutional amendments in Egypt, the photos claim that the Egyptian army is distributing foodstuffs to Egyptian voters in order to make them vote in favor of the amendments.

However, the photos have been confirmed to date back to June 2018, where the army distributed foodstuffs to poor citizens in El-Mahalla governorate.

Another distortion attempt was the photos of foodstuffs boxes with the logo of Nation's Future Party on them. The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood electronic committees circulated the photos claiming that the party is giving away the foodstuffs as a bribe to encourage citizens into voting.

The photos date back to January 2019 part of a charity campaign in Marsa Matruh governorate, the campaign was organized by the party’s officials to aid disadvantaged families.

Youth noticed in a number of polling places in referendum

Youth standing in a queue at a polling place in Egypt. April 21, 2019. Egypt Today/Hossam Atef

The presence of youth was noticed at a number of polling places across the country as they have been queuing to cast their ballots in the referendum on constitutional amendments.

Queues having a remarkable number of youth were noticed in Greater Cairo’s Al Salam, 6th of October City, Zamalek, and Heliopolis. As for governorates, young voters were present in Port Said, Fayoum, and Aswan. Also, a number of Egyptian students showed up at the embassy in Moscow to vote.