Egyptian Official: Referendum Extending Sisi Rule Passes

Egypt’s top election official has announced that a referendum to amend the country’s constitution had passed by a wide margin. The referendum, which took place from Saturday through Monday, called for changes to presidential terms of office that would leave Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in power until 2030, and measures that would increase the military’s power over the country. Lasheen Ibrahim, who chairs Egypt’s National Election Authority, told reporters on Tuesday that 88.83 percent of those who took part in the referendum voted in favor of the changes. Only 44.33% of Egypt’s approximately 61 million eligible voters turned out, Ibrahim said. This might indicate a lack of enthusiasm for the amendments as there had been reports that those not voting would be fined. Sisi, a former military chief who overthrew the democratically elected Islamist president Mohammad Morsi, tweeted his satisfaction with the referendum’s outcome by saying it would be “written down in our nation’s historical record.”