Eurasia Press & News
Egyptians turned out in numbers amid tight security on Tuesday to vote in a referendum on a new constitution.
The two-day ballot is seen as a key step towards Egypt’s return to full democracy under a military-backed political road map, with elections for a president and a parliament to follow later this year.
The country has been sharply divided between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and the military, security forces and their supporters following the army’s removal of the Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July last year.
Some 160,000 soldiers and more than 200,000 policemen fanned out across the nation to protect polling stations and voters against possible attacks by militants loyal to Mr Morsi. Cars were prevented from parking or driving by polling stations and women were searched by female police officers. Military helicopters hovered over Cairo and other major cities.
