Three dead in Egypt poll clashes between police and protesters

Violence in the city of Sohag came hours after Egyptians started voting on the new constitution, which represents a key milestone in a military-backed road map put in place since the removal of the Islamist Mohammed Morsi last July.

A massive security operation is underway to prevent Mr Morsi’s supporters from disrupting the vote and in anticipation of attacks by Islamic militants. The officials say police opened fire on about 300 pro-Morsi protesters after the officers came under fire from rooftops during a rally.

The two-day balloting is also widely seen as a referendum on a likely presidential run by Egypt’s top general – but held in a climate of fear and intimidation.

It is also the first test at the ballot box for the popularly backed coup that ousted Islamist Mr Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood last July.

A comfortable Yes vote and a respectable turnout would bestow legitimacy on the cascade of events that followed the coup while undermining the Islamists’ argument that Mr Morsi remains the nation’s elected president.

His Brotherhood, which is now branded a terrorist group, has called for a boycott of the vote and Mr Morsi himself is facing three separate trials on charges that carry the death penalty.

Some 160,000 soldiers and 200,000 policemen were due to be to deployed across Egypt to guard polling stations and voters yesterday and today. The unprecedented security follows months of violence that authorities have blamed on Islamic militants. In the six months since Mr Morsi’s removal, there has been an assassination attempt on the interior minister as well as deadly attacks on key security officers, soldiers, policemen and provincial security and military intelligence headquarters.

Mr Morsi’s supporters have said they would stage massive demonstrations and have labelled the draft charter a “constitution of blood”. In response, the government has warned it would deal harshly with anyone interfering with the referendum.

In the days running up to the vote, Egypt looked more like a country going to war rather than one preparing for a transition to democratic rule. The government and the overwhelmingly pro-military media have portrayed the balloting as the key to the nation’s security and stability over which there can be no dissent.

Hundreds of thousands of 
flyers, posters, banners and billboards exhort Egyptians to vote Yes. Posters and campaigns 
urging a No vote have led to arrests.