Egyptian voters lining up at the polls during the first day of voting on the new referendum singing songs of joy and praising General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi were contrasted with the 11 pro-Morsi protesters who were killed during clashes with military personnel, the Associated Press reported.
Four of the 11 killed were shot by gunmen on rooftops in Sohag, a city in Egypt, after police and protesters clashed, the AP reported. Another Morsi supporter was also shot to death when protesters tried to storm a polling station in south Cairo.
An explosion occurred before voting polls opened outside a Cairo courthouse on Tuesday, but no injuries were reported in the act which seemed more of a scare tactic to keep voters away from the polls, the AP reported.
Egyptian military was heavily dispersed at voting centers to keep the calm but violence broke out between protesters and military personnel who were removing any pro-Morsi orMuslim Brotherhood supporters from the area, the AP reported .
About 160,000 soldiers and more than 200,000 police officers were dispersed to protect the polling stations and the voters while helicopters flew over Cairo, among other major cities, the AP reported. Officers rerouted cars and women were searched by female officers.
Protesters burned tires and threw rocks and firebombs towards police to create "just enough danger to keep many voters at home," according to the AP.
The voting will take place until Wednesday and could mean General Sisi will run for president after he removed Morsi last July and began a violent crackdown on Morsi supporters and members of the Brotherhood, the AP reported.
Anyone who spoke out campaigning against the referendum were being removed and arrested by the police; even if the person was opposing one part of the referendum they were still being labeled as traitors, according to the AP.
The referendum has been labeled a "milestone" by the military backed government who hope to move towards more democratic state in Egypt, the AP reported.
"Anyone who was raised in Egypt will choose this constitution," 70-year-old Verta Nassif said in regards to the referendum, according to the AP.
She was joined by many others who shared her view, but there was also opposition at the polls.
"El-Sissi is a killer and his constitution is void," shouted a woman, who was forced to leave the scene just before a security team arrived to look for her, according to the AP.
Another man, Hany Abdel-Hakeem standing at a nearby outdoor market, argued with one of the venders and said: "I will not participate in anything I am not convinced of. And if I say anything against it, I will be arrested. Keeping silent is better," the AP reported.
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