9:58PM
Referendum Results In
By 
Josh Stacher | Egypt
Josh Stacher | Egypt
Tonight, it has been reported by the BBC that yesterday's referendum passed with 83-percent of the votes being "Yes."
According to the Egyptian state 16.4 million of the 32 million (54-percent) eligible voters turned out nation-wide.
UPDATE:
Reuters is reporting that the initial electoral returns from the first two provinces showed that referendum was approved by 98-percent.
Hence, it was the remaining 24 governateswhere all the "NO" votes came from - yeah right!
ALSO:
I had brunch with the scholar this morning. We were talking about the turnout and the 83-percent YES margin. Both of us felt it was manipulated to lower it. After all, as the scholar put it, that would mean "around 3 million people turned up to vote 'NO'." Actually, it would have been 2.77 million people voting NO.
Based on the empirical finding we collected, this seems impossible. That said, however, we were in Cairo and not outside, where the government claims the polls were more active.
But who are those 2.77 million naughty citizens voting no?
Al-Masri al-Youm spoke with one voter who said no to changing the constitution. Why?
Well, according to this guy, he did not want to change the system because he wants Hosni Mubarak and only Hosni Mubarak forever.
He did his part by trying to make sure there won't be any democratic slips in Masr. After all, you never know what happens when you open-up the system.
According to the Egyptian state 16.4 million of the 32 million (54-percent) eligible voters turned out nation-wide.
UPDATE:
Reuters is reporting that the initial electoral returns from the first two provinces showed that referendum was approved by 98-percent.
Hence, it was the remaining 24 governateswhere all the "NO" votes came from - yeah right!
ALSO:
I had brunch with the scholar this morning. We were talking about the turnout and the 83-percent YES margin. Both of us felt it was manipulated to lower it. After all, as the scholar put it, that would mean "around 3 million people turned up to vote 'NO'." Actually, it would have been 2.77 million people voting NO.
Based on the empirical finding we collected, this seems impossible. That said, however, we were in Cairo and not outside, where the government claims the polls were more active.
But who are those 2.77 million naughty citizens voting no?
Al-Masri al-Youm spoke with one voter who said no to changing the constitution. Why?
Well, according to this guy, he did not want to change the system because he wants Hosni Mubarak and only Hosni Mubarak forever.
He did his part by trying to make sure there won't be any democratic slips in Masr. After all, you never know what happens when you open-up the system.
Reader Comments (5)
I saw a statistic in some paper that said the turnout for Upper Egypt was around 70%, that is notably higher than the national average of 54%. We should remember two things: 1) people in rural districts are probably more likely to vote, with the referendum being something of an event in village/small town life and local politics being less driven by ideology; 2) since there were many more lagaan (voting stations) than judges, there was considerably more opportunity for fraud at small stations than in the main ones. It would be interesting to tally the vote and see what proportion came from main stations and sub-stations.
As for wanting Hosni forever, I spoke to a pro-Mubarak demonstrator the other day and asked him who he would like after Mubarak. He said, "Hosni Mubarak. I want him forever and there will be no one else than him." When I pointed out that he was old and would not live forever, he would not consider the possibility.
I am actually one of those who voted No. But I tend to agree with the scholar, and find it very hard to believe that we were 2.7million.
"As for wanting Hosni forever, I spoke to a pro-Mubarak demonstrator the other day and asked him who he would like after Mubarak. He said, “Hosni Mubarak. I want him forever and there will be no one else than him.� When I pointed out that he was old and would not live forever, he would not consider the possibility."
Are these people sincere?
A friend of mine spoke to a judge who was overlooking a voting station in Gharbeia, and he was saying that the many farmers/peasants that were coming to vote were thinking that they were coming to vote Yes to Mubarak (not the referundum).
Praktike: The guy I spoke to was a local NDP official, a small-time guy. I'm sure he's gotten a lot out being active in the party, and knows his interests lie with it. In that sense, I think he was sincerely towing the party line, and reluctant to comment on the succession issue since that is a taboo issue to discuss even at high levels of the party