Dueling Protests on Eve of Egypt’s Referendum Vote - East Idaho News
World

Dueling Protests on Eve of Egypt’s Referendum Vote

  Published at

GETTY W 12612 CairoProtests?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1355488687033Ed Giles/Getty Images(CAIRO) — Both sides in Egypt’s political battle are hitting the streets on Friday ahead of a vote that will help decide the future of the largest country in the Arab world.

Supporters of President Mohammed Morsi are rallying outside a mosque, urging Egyptians to vote for a constitution that they say will bring stability to a country in political and economic crisis.

But opponents of the constitution are converging on the presidential palace from four different locations, arguing the charter opens the door to conservative Islam and threatens to restrict freedom of speech.

Both sides believe the future of the country is at stake, and both sides are politicking in their own way.  The opposition has TV and newspaper ads and pickup trucks with loudspeakers touring the countryside, arguing the constitution will divide Egypt.  The Muslim Brotherhood has posters across the country delivering a simpler message: voting yes is voting to protect Sharia laws.

The vote has divided the country — what one U.S. official calls Red State/Blue State Egypt, with Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and their religious allies on one side, and liberal, secular and Christian Egyptians on the other.

The majority of the vote takes place on Saturday, with most of the results expected to be in by later that night.  Other parts of the country will vote on Saturday, Dec. 22.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION