Egyptians are Boycotting a Fake Referendum on Constitutional Amendments

Egypt’s amendments of the constitution have been approved by the Parliament on Tuesday. Now, a public referendum is scheduled to take place by the end of April 2019 to approve or dismiss the changes.

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The constitutional amendments that were first proposed in February will allow Egypt’s current strongman, Abdel Fattah Sisi, to stay in power until 2030.

Sisi, who is due to end his second four-year-term in 2022, would have his presidential term lengthened to six years through the amendments which would allow him to stand for one more term.

The amendments were first voted on by Parliament on Tuesday where it received majority approval, and now Egyptians are going to have their say on it through the public referendum.

Meanwhile, the constitutional amendments are believed to aim at one thing which is expanding Sisi’s power and iron fist into cracking down on the dissidents.

However, opposition parties and activists are questioning the referendum's credibility, with Sisi expected to manipulate the numbers and results in his favor.

Opposition voices and activists in Egypt have been split in a dilemma between campaigns to boycott the referendum and others calling for Egyptians to go to the polls and vote 'No' to prove their presence and make their voice heard.

While all their aim is to publicly express their opposition to any extension of powers for Sisi, the way to express it has been fundamental.

Translation: “Do not take part of this [ridiculous] play, do not take part in legitimizing the falsehood, otherwise, we would be worthless, the same way we are being treated by this ruling gang. Boycott disrespecting you, boycott the referendum.”

On hashtag #لا_للتعديلات_الدستورية [No for constitutional amendments], Egyptians have been discussing how are they going to express their rejection.

Translation: “Let them hear you saying no for their falsehood state.”

Meanwhile, authorities in Egypt have reportedly blocked around 34,000 internet domains aiming at restricting an opposition campaign site that succeeded in collecting 250,000 signatures against the amendments.

Sisi has been in office since 2014 when he led a military coup against Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi. Since then, he has been leading an unprecedented crackdown on freedoms with massive human rights violations that led to the detention of thousands of civilians.

He was elected in 2018 for the second term winning 97% of the vote, yet he was not facing any competition after his government had arrested all potential rivals.