In a few hours, sixty million Egyptian voters shall crowd outside poll stations, inside Egypt and in the main cities of 70 other countries, to vote on the constitutional amendments suggested by Parliament.

On one hand, the parliament claims that the suggested amendments are meant to improve the quality of political affairs between state authorities and to empower vulnerable groups (e.g. women, youth, Coptic Christians, Egyptians living abroad, and people with disabilities) through a quota system to be represented in high profile policy-making positions.

On the other hand, political opposition groups claim that the new constitutional amendments are tailored to empower the current President of the State to stay in power for an infinite period of time, copying the dark ages of Mubarak's authoritarianism.

Between the two stances, The Liberal Democracy Institute conducted a thorough study of the suggested constitutional amendments to evaluate their influence on the process of democratization in Egypt, especially in the long term.

We invite you to read the study here (Arabic PDF)

Meanwhile, we will be busy monitoring the referendum and evaluating the freedom and fairness of the voting process. We will issue a detailed report on this and share it with you, as soon as the National Elections Committee announces the final results, which is expected in ten days from now. Stay tuned!