Egypt to announce results of constitution vote

Egyptian authorities are expected to announce on Saturday the official results of this week's referendum on a new constitution, a day after clashes between security forces and Islamist protesters killed four people.

State media, citing initial estimates, said around 95 percent of voters supported the new constitution.

The new charter would replace one approved under former President Mohammad Mursi, who was ousted by the military in July following mass protests demanding his departure.

Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood had called for anti-government protests and a boycott of last week’s vote, seeing it as part of a coup against the country‘s freely-elected leader.

The referendum is a key step in the political transition plan the interim government has billed as a path to democracy, even as it presses a fierce crackdown on the Brotherhood.

Clashes on Friday

On Friday, at least four people were killed in clashes between Brotherhood supporters and police across the country.

One man was killed by a gunshot wound to the neck in the city of Fayoum, south of Cairo, a local health ministry official told Reuters.

Three people were killed in clashes in the Cairo area, the security sources said. Two were shot and the circumstances of the other death were unclear.

Supporters of the Brotherhood also clashed with security forces in the city of Suez, MENA reported, as well as in Ismailia and a number of locations in the capital, security sources said.