Egyptians vote 77.2 % 'Yes' for constitutional changes

Egyptians voted 77.2 percent in favor of constitutional amendments at a key referendum, paving the way to parliamentary and presidential elections within six months, official results said Sunday.

A total of 18.5 million voters out of an estimated 45 million who were eligible, or 41percent, turned out for Egypt's first poll after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, organizers said Sunday.

The amendments were drawn up by a judicial panel appointed by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces which says it wants to relinquish power to a civilian, elected government as quickly as possible.

The reforms impose a limit on the length of time a president can spend in office, restricting a leader to two, four-year terms. Mubarak was serving in his fifth, six-year term when toppled. They also restore judicial oversight of elections.

The referendum divided Egyptians between those who said the reforms would suffice for now and others who said the constitution needed a complete rewrite.

The reforms were backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, the main Islamist group, and remnants of Mubarak's National Democratic Party, which had called on voters to support the changes.

"The main fear is that it will be interpreted by some of the political forces that supported the referendum as a kind of support for their programs, and I mean the Islamists," political analyst Diaa Rashwan told Reuters.

The referendum was a milestone on the course charted by the military towards parliamentary and presidential elections. The military has signaled the parliamentary election could happen in September, with the presidential vote after that.

An early election is seen as favoring the Brotherhood and remnants of the Mubarak administration. Decades of oppression under Mubarak crushed other groups, which are arguing for a longer interim period to allow political life to recover.

One argument put forward by advocates of the reforms was that a 'yes' vote would help put Egypt back on a path to political and economic stability.

"This was a vote on stability and getting the country back onto a faster transition process: a desire to have a quicker rather than a drawn-out process," said Josh Stacher, a political scientist who observed voting on Saturday.

"It does favor the Brotherhood because, given their established networks, this will work favorably for their representation in parliament, it will also favor independents who were affiliated with the National Democratic Party."