Egyptian judiciary rejects halting referendum on the constitution

The administrative judiciary in Egypt on Monday rejected the appeals proposed by the main opposition parties to halt the referendum due to be held tomorrow on article 76 of the Egyptian constitution regarding having multiple candidates in presidential elections.

The opposition parties which proposed five appeals based on the absence of complete judicial supervision on the referendum committees and alleged illegal use of the constitution. The opposition views the constitutional change as cosmetic.

The main opposition parties, which are al-Wafd, al-Tajamu', al-Naseri and al-Ghad as well as the Muslim Brothers group adopted the call to boycott the referendum while the state's forces started an unprecedented campaign to urge the voters to head for the ballot centers.

The rate of participation is considered the main criterion on the constitutional amendment which allows multiple candidates in the election of the President of the Republic for the first time in the history of Egypt. The president of the republic in Egypt used to be selected by two thirds of the parliament and this choice then would be ratified by a yes-or-no vote on this single candidate in a referendum in which the candidate often gets 90% of the votes in a weak rate of participation.