Egypt’s Referendum: Vote Yes or Get Beaten

Military On Hand to Ensure Support for Junta

Egypt’s last constitution didn’t last very long before the military coup d’etat. The junta’s penned a new, more pro-military version, and that’s going to referendum this week in the nation.

They say “referendum” as though it’s a real vote, but the reality is that you vote yes or you have a discussion with the military forces on hand about why you didn’t vote yes.

In Cairo, military personnel were openly beating opponents of the constitution on the grounds that it amounted to an “insult” to the military, a crime the junta punishes with swift and blinding violence.

It’s a foregone conclusion that the constitution will pass, and will officially give the military even more power than it already claims. It will also mean the rollback of attempts to limit military power after the ouster of Hosni Muibarak will be essentially complete, just waiting for General Sisi to decide if he wants to be president or keep running the nation out of the Defense Ministry.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.