Egypt’s Flawed Constitutional Referendum

 The NYT says that Mr. Morsi should have postponed the referendum, reconvened a constitutional assembly that was less dominated by his Muslim Brotherhood allies and charged its members with writing an amended charter that would respond to the concerns that his more liberal, secular opponents have with the current draft.It rejects the idea that ammendments to the draft can be made after the referendum.

The secular parties grouped under the National Salvation Front point out that the draft contains unclear measures which would enable islamists to ignore the rightsof minorities whist entrenching the military in its position of power thus preventing meaningful change. There is little doubt that the Muslim Brothersand their salafist allies possess the numbers and the superior political organisation to guarantee a yes vote. The opposition only decided to participate in the referendum  this week and their leaders have failed to articulate an alternative policy to President Morsi 's measures.It is unlikely that the referendum will resolve thedivisions in Egyptian society and his forcing through the draft without consultation has robbed him of the claim to speak for all Egyptians  in the eyes of his opponents. Egypt is likely to remain a divided society and the clashes seen in Alexandria reflect the dangerous polarisation.

Moreover, many judges are refusing to monitor the referendum in protest and international bodies like the Carter Foundation have said that it is too short notice to provide monitors thus undermining the credibility of the referendum process. President Morsi stands accused of reverting to dictatorial practices and it will be difficult to win back the trust of the secular and liberal parties. The resulting divide between islamic and secular values has implications for North Africa as a whole.