| Date: | 14–15 January 2014 |
| Country: | Egypt |
| Yes: | 19985389 |
| No: | 381341 |
| Invalid: | 246947 |
| Total: | 20613677 |
| Electorate: | 53423485 |
| Mapdivision: | Governorate |
| Map: | Egyptian constitutional referendum 2014.svg |
A constitutional referendum was held in Egypt on 14 and 15 January 2014,[1] with Egyptians abroad voting between 8 and 12 January.[2] The new constitution was approved by 98.1% of voters. Turnout was 38.6%.[3]
President Mohamad Morsi was removed from power during the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état.[4] The timetable established by interim president Adly Mansour envisioned a rapid transition, which initially entailed amending the suspended 2012 constitution.[4]
The process of amending the 2012 constitution began with a committee of 10 legal experts.[5] The draft amendments by the committee of 10 made many notable changes to the text of the 2012 constitution.[6] The committee of 10 completed their work on 20 August 2013.[7]
The second phase of the process included amendments by a committee of 50; those 50 people were announced on 1 September 2013.[8] Amr Moussa was chosen as the chairman of the committee of 50 on 8 September 2013.[9] The draft constitution was given to President Mansour on 3 December 2013.[10]
The Dignity Party backed the constitution.[11] The Free Egyptians Party supported it.[12] The Socialist Popular Alliance Party as well as the Socialist Party of Egypt also supported the constitution.[11] The Popular Current had said that it supported the constitution.[13] The Nour Party said it would support the constitution.[14] Tamarod started a campaign on 5 December 2013 in support of the constitution.[15] The Egyptian Trade Union Federation called on its supporters to vote for the constitution.[16] The National Salvation Front said that it would call for a yes vote on the constitution.[17] The Egyptian Social Democratic Party voted for the constitution.[18]
Khaled Ali, a former presidential candidate, was opposed to the constitution; he stated that it was "inappropriate" for Egypt.[19] The Revolutionary Socialists also expressed their opposition to it.[20] The Road of the Revolution Front announced on 8 January 2014 that it would vote against the constitution.[21] The Freedom and Justice Party and the Islamic Bloc, which had won 65.3% of the vote in Egypt's parliamentary elections in 2011–2012, opposed the new Constitution and the referendum as being the fruits of an illegal military coup.[22]
The Anti-Coup Alliance, which includes the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Freedom and Justice Party, announced on 22 December 2013 that it would boycott the vote.[23] The Strong Egypt Party and the April 6 Youth Movement also indicated that they would boycott the vote.[24] The Strong Egypt Party was initially going to mobilize for a "no" vote,[25] but changed their stance after members of the party were arrested for having posters which supported the "no" campaign.[26]
According to the official results, turnout was 38.9%. Turnout in the constitutional referendum of 2012 had been 32.9%.[3]
Tamarod,[27] the European Union[28] and 27,000 observers were expected to monitor the referendum; judges affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood were excluded from supervising polling stations.[29]
According to Human Rights Watch, 11 people were killed in the clashes on 14 January 2014.[30] However, according to the Health ministry, 8 people died in the first day of voting and two people died in the second day of voting.[31]
In the weeks before the voting there were massive arrests of persons opposing the Constitution or the referendum.[32]
Voter participation was about 38.6 percent according to Egyptian government figures that were challenged by the Muslim Brotherhood, which had called of a boycott because the vote was taking place after a military coup. There were almost 20 million total votes in favor. The vote was held with support for a "yes" vote by the Egyptian government and state media as well as a crackdown on those against it.[33]
For comparison, about 16.7 million voters participated in the vote approving the constitution drafted under Morsi. This represented a turnout of 32.9 percent despite a boycott of the vote by non-Islamist factions. Of those that participated in that election, 63.8 percent voted for the Morsi-backed constitution, or about 10.65 million "yes" votes.[33]
| Governorate | Eligible voters | Voter turnout | Turnout % | Total votes | Valid votes | Invalid votes | "Yes" votes | "Yes" % | "No" votes | "No" % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo | 6,674,865 | 2,688,743 | 40.3% | 2,791,233 | 2,762,952 | 28,281 | 2,720,162 | 98.5% | 42,790 | 1.5% | |
| Giza | 4,518,941 | 1,450,195 | 32.1% | 1,507,416 | 1,488,662 | 18,754 | 1,459,201 | 98.0% | 29,461 | 2.0% | |
| Dakahlia | 3,793,080 | 1,876,901 | 49.5% | 1,891,617 | 1,874,597 | 17,020 | 1,850,535 | 98.7% | 24,062 | 1.3% | |
| Sharqia | 3,681,587 | 1,666,493 | 45.3% | 1,691,360 | 1,673,968 | 17,392 | 1,646,736 | 98.4% | 27,232 | 1.6% | |
| Alexandria | 3,415,629 | 1,308,971 | 38.3% | 1,353,632 | 1,340,449 | 13,183 | 1,319,454 | 98.4% | 20,995 | 1.6% | |
| Beheira | 3,376,941 | 1,260,624 | 37.3% | 1,276,980 | 1,260,503 | 16,477 | 1,234,019 | 97.9% | 26,484 | 2.1% | |
| Gharbia | 3,020,674 | 1,574,173 | 52.1% | 1,586,496 | 1,572,176 | 14,320 | 1,551,093 | 98.7% | 21,083 | 1.3% | |
| Minya | 2,808,534 | 734,512 | 26.2% | 740,233 | 723,193 | 17,040 | 698,621 | 96.6% | 24,572 | 3.4% | |
| Qalyubia | 2,718,798 | 1,204,971 | 44.3% | 1,231,032 | 1,217,220 | 13,812 | 1,198,011 | 98.4% | 19,209 | 1.6% | |
| Sohag | 2,485,950 | 592,391 | 23.8% | 600,503 | 591,496 | 9,007 | 574,797 | 97.2% | 16,699 | 2.8% | |
| Monufia | 2,298,208 | 1,226,154 | 53.4% | 1,242,219 | 1,228,811 | 13,408 | 1,212,268 | 98.7% | 16,543 | 1.3% | |
| Asyut | 2,219,387 | 538,873 | 24.3% | 547,539 | 536,532 | 11,007 | 515,571 | 96.1% | 20,961 | 3.9% | |
| Kafr el-Sheikh | 1,935,985 | 817,904 | 42.2% | 823,516 | 815,038 | 8,478 | 803,940 | 98.6% | 11,098 | 1.4% | |
| Qena | 1,676,423 | 400,668 | 23.9% | 410,770 | 405,064 | 5,706 | 395,439 | 97.6% | 9,625 | 2.4% | |
| Faiyum | 1,628,192 | 385,601 | 23.7% | 391,609 | 383,384 | 8,225 | 370,802 | 96.7% | 12,582 | 3.3% | |
| Beni Suef | 1,506,498 | 490,670 | 32.6% | 496,172 | 486,360 | 9,812 | 469,974 | 96.6% | 16,386 | 3.4% | |
| Aswan | 891,699 | 251,588 | 28.2% | 257,563 | 254,088 | 3,475 | 248,571 | 97.8% | 5,517 | 2.2% | |
| Damietta | 891,241 | 408,617 | 45.8% | 415,825 | 411,233 | 4,592 | 404,687 | 98.4% | 6,546 | 1.6% | |
| Ismailia | 735,103 | 290,689 | 39.5% | 299,606 | 295,671 | 3,935 | 289,863 | 98.0% | 5,808 | 2.0% | |
| Luxor | 703,670 | 215,668 | 30.6% | 220,606 | 218,203 | 2,403 | 214,510 | 98.3% | 3,693 | 1.7% | |
| Port Said | 453,377 | 231,439 | 51.0% | 239,772 | 237,188 | 2,584 | 233,672 | 98.5% | 3,516 | 1.5% | |
| Suez | 396,466 | 136,658 | 34.5% | 144,919 | 143,284 | 1,635 | 140,167 | 97.8% | 3,117 | 2.2% | |
| Red Sea | 244,603 | 77,681 | 31.8% | 108,147 | 106,758 | 1,389 | 103,858 | 97.3% | 2,900 | 2.7% | |
| North Sinai | 223,533 | 69,217 | 31.0% | 75,968 | 74,557 | 1,411 | 72,161 | 96.8% | 2,396 | 3.2% | |
| Matruh | 224,385 | 36,445 | 16.2% | 44,725 | 43,910 | 815 | 42,242 | 96.2% | 1,668 | 3.8% | |
| New Valley | 147,525 | 51,923 | 35.2% | 52,877 | 51,769 | 1,108 | 49,920 | 96.4% | 1,849 | 3.6% | |
| South Sinai | 70,845 | 23,804 | 33.6% | 64,301 | 63,123 | 1,178 | 60,651 | 96.1% | 2,472 | 3.9% |