CAIRO (Update 3) - A majority of Egyptians who cast votes in a referendum have backed constitutional changes that will allow Egypt's military rulers to move swiftly to elections, a judicial official announced Sunday night.
A parliamentary vote may now take place as early as September.
Mohammed Ahmed Attiyah, the head of the supreme judicial committee that supervised the vote, told a news conference that 77.2 per cent of the more than 18.5 million people who voted supported the changes. Turnout was 41.2 per cent of the 45 million eligible voters, he said.
The Muslim Brotherhood and remnants of former President Hosni Mubarak's ruling party called for a 'yes' vote, and analysts said they would benefit most from an early parliamentary election. Reformers urged a 'no' vote saying they wanted the constitution re-written.
Turnout was always very low for elections which were routinely rigged under President Hosni Mubarak, toppled on Feb. 11 by a mass uprising that forced him to step down and hand power to the military.
The reforms were backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, the main Islamist group, and remnants of Mubarak's National Democratic Party, which had called on voters to support the changes.
