Cabinet of Ministers decided on Wednesday to hand out free copies of the draft constitution in an attempt to inform citizens of its content ahead of the referendum in mid-January.
The Cabinet ordered the Ministry of Youth to oversee the printing and distribution of the draft constitution, which will be handed out “free of charge to all government departments and agencies, youth centres, universities and the media.”
In their statement the Cabinet of Ministers stressed that the decision was taken to educate Egyptians of the content “in the face of deception carried out by some forces and groups.” The ministers then suggested that some groups are printing falsified copies of the constitution.
More copies of the constitution can be requested by contacting the State Information Service, read the statement.
Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim said on Wednesday that his ministry is aware of “all attempts made or hatched” to derail the upcoming referendum.
Different groups have announced how they will vote in the referendum since interim President Adly Mansour announced the dates last Saturday. The Salafi Al-Nour Party and the Egyptian Trade Union Federation said they would encourage their members to vote ‘yes’ in the referendum. The Anti-Coup Alliance, a coalition supporting the return of ouster president Mohamed Morsi and backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, said it would boycott the referendum. The Islamist Al-Wasat Party will join the alliance in its boycott.
The Muslim Brotherhood and other factions supporting Morsi have said that the constitution ratified in December 2012 is the “legitimate constitution” and have not recognised the current interim government or its roadmap as legal or legitimate.
