Brief of 1st Day of Egypt's Referendum 2019 (Photos)

In the first day of the public referendum on some constitutional changes, Egyptian voters rallied to cast their ballots. Dozens were lined in long queues from early morning before ballot stations nationwide.

“I believe that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi deserves to remain in power more,” Abdullah Said, worker at a public hospital in Cairo, said after casting his vote western Cairo.

Said told SEE that “I voted by ‘Yes’ in the referendum.”

[caption id="attachment_46609" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Brief of 1st Day of Egypt’s Public Referendum 2019[/caption]

Another voter named Maha Mohamed headed to SEE and wanted to express her opinion. She said “I do love Sisi.”

“I believe that Sisi needs to keep in office until he accomplishes all mega projects that he has begun,” the 60-year-old woman said.

People carrying flags and wearing T-shirts saying "do the right thing meanwhile campaigned for a Yes vote.

[caption id="attachment_46610" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Brief of 1st Day of Egypt’s Public Referendum 2019[/caption]

A double-decker bus blasting patriotic music circled around polling stations close to Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the 2011 uprising that ended former President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.

"I believe that everything the president has done was for the good of the country, and I believe that we want the march to continue," Mona Quarashi, head of a local development NGO, told Reuters before she voted in downtown Cairo.

[caption id="attachment_46611" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Brief of 1st Day of Egypt’s Public Referendum 2019[/caption]

Egypt's 596-member parliament approved the amendments on Tuesday, voting by 531 to 22 in favor.

Some 61 million of Egypt's nearly 100 million population are eligible to vote. The result is expected in the days after Monday's final day of voting. Polls are due to close on Saturday at 21:00 Cairo Local Time (CLT).

The State Information Service issued 548 permits for foreign media means, according to SIS statement.

The list of foreign correspondents includes representatives of 127 press and media organizations, including 32 news agencies, 43 television channels, 13 radio stations and 39 newspapers, including 41 Europeans, 23 American, 27 Asians and 36 Arab media organizations.

[caption id="attachment_46612" align="aligncenter" width="6176"] A woman casts her vote during the referendum on draft constitutional amendments, at a polling station in Cairo, Egypt April 20, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany[/caption]