A woman carrying her daughter vents her frustrations to electoral staff as she and others wait to cast their vote during a referendum on the new Egyptian constitution at a polling station on December 15, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. (Photo: Getty Images)
Erica Ritz
The Blaze
12/16/2012
(TheBlaze/AP) — Nevine Mustafa finally had enough after 10 hours of waiting to cast her “no” vote in Egypt’s referendum on a highly disputed draft constitution. She and the other women in line were convinced the judge running the polling station was deliberately stalling to drive away voters opposed to the document.
So the 39-year-old housewife and dozens of other women launched a protest, blocking the street and chanting against the judge in an upper class district of Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city.
“The line was not moving since 8 a.m. I protest. It is now 7 p.m.,” an agitated Mustafa said at the time. “He wants us to get bored and leave.” After their protest, new officials were brought in to speed up the process.
The scene was a reflection of the deep distrust of Egypt’s ruling Islamists and their management of a referendum on a draft constitution that they largely wrote. Questions raised Sunday over the referendum’s legitimacy suggest the confrontation between Islamists and their secular, liberal and Christian opponents will not be resolved by the long-awaited vote.
As Islamist President Mohammed Morsi rushed the referendum despite high pitched opposition, the dispute over the charter has turned into a fight over the Islamists’ hold on power, and the ballot has become a yes or no vote on the president himself…
…Many voters who backed the charter argue that men who fear God have written the text, so it must be given a chance.
But the women’s protest during Saturday’s voting in Alexandria’s Rushdi neighborhood reflected anger over what they view as the Brotherhood’s domineering way of ruling. Scores of women blocked traffic, chanting, “Down with the rule of the Brotherhood leader.”
A young man with a light beard – which the women took as a sign he was a Brotherhood member – tried to break up the protest, telling the women they were obstructing traffic, said Mustafa, who herself wears a conservative headscarf.
“So we shouted: Down with Morsi!” she said…
Egyptians women wait to cast their votes outside a polling station during a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of President Morsi, in Alexandria, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. (Photo: AP)
The complete article, with video, is at The Blaze.
