Egyptians Worldwide for Democracy and Justice (EW4DJ) Calls for Boycotting the Constitution Referendum
Councilor Adly Mansour, the military-appointed president of Egypt, has called recently on Egyptian voters to participate in a referendum on the constitution drafted by a military-appointed committee composed of 50 members.
EW4DJ, as a representative of a wide segment of expatriate pro-democracy Egyptians, rejects this constitution draft and calls for the return of the democratically elected institutions. EW4DJ also calls for the return to the democratic route that was approved by Egyptian voters on March 19th, 2011.
EW4DJ rejection of the constitution and the referendum is based on many reasons. These reasons include the following:
- Egypt lives under a state of terror imposed on the population by the military coup. Thousands of peaceful pro-democracy supporters have been killed by the coup army and police forces. Tens of thousands are behind bars in humane conditions with many believed to have been tortured. Free newspapers and TV stations have been shut down. Only the ones under state control or under the control of pro-coup supporters were left to operate. The crimes of the coup have put the country on the verge of a civil war and in such a climate, a fair and transparent voting is not possible.
- The referendum is illegal and the person calling for it, the military-appointed councilor Mansour, is also an illegal president. He is a puppet in the hands of the military coup with no real legitimacy.
- The military coup itself, according to international law, is illegal. As a consequence, all actions of the coup authorities, including the formation of the constitution drafting committee and the declaration of a road map, are illegitimate. The Egyptian people, both inside and outside the country, will not accept the illegitimate constitution draft as basis for the future of the country.
- The suggested constitution draft contains many flawed clauses that undermine all the gains of the revolution of January 25th, 2011. These clauses allow the militarization of the state and the creation of a military fascism. It also puts the position of the minister of defence and the military above state laws.
- Egypt has already a constitution that 64% of Egyptians voted in favor in 2012. The unelected committee appointed by Councilor Mansour has no authority to change the constitution of 2012 which was created by members elected by the Egyptian nation.
Egyptians Worldwide for Democracy and Justice (EW4DJ), while rejecting the military coup and all subsequent measures taken by the coup authorities, calls for Egyptians both inside and outside the country to boycott the referendum. We call on our people to continue protesting and resisting the bloody coup by all peaceful means until its eventual defeat. ED4DJ values the great sacrifices our people are making to recover democracy and to put the country on the right track again.
Egyptians Worldwide for Democracy and Justice