Former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak's lawyer told Reuters Tuesday that the former leader wants to vote in the country's constitutional referendum.
"He wants to vote," Mubarak's lawyer, Fareed El Deeb, told Reuters via telephone. "Of course it would be yes for the constitution."
Most Egyptians would "never dream of" participating in a referendum such as a the current one under Mubarak, who "rule Egypt with an iron fist for 30 years" before he was ousted during the Jan. 25 revolution in 2011. The only experiment with fair elections in Egypt under Mubarak took place in 2005, but a 99 percent victory was allegedly recorded in the dictator's party favor.
A judicial source told Reuters that "there are no legal obstacles to Mubarak voting," but a Supreme Committee for Election spokesman said that they had not yet received any specific request from Mubarak's lawyer to participate in the vote. Additionally, the former dictator, who has been hospitalized in Cairo since his release from prison in August 2013, may face complications in participating in the referendum given the security logistics.
The current military government has described the referendum as "the conclusion of the revolution that toppled Mubarak." However, many pro-Morsi supporters have boycotted the vote, saying that the constitution is more of an effort to eradicate Islamist influence in the state and "turn the clock back to the Mubarak era," citing Army chief and former Mubarak intelligence aide Abdel Fattah El Sisi's expected bid for presidency following the vote as evidence.
