Divided Egypt votes after deadly clashes

An Egyptian woman shows her ink-stained finger as she holds a card bearing portraits of late Egyptian presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser (L) and Anwar Sadat (R) alongside Egypt's Defence Minister army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, after casting her ballot at a polling station in the northern port city of Alexandria, yesterday . Photo: AFP

Voting in Egypt's constitutional referendum was largely incident-free yesterday after clashes left nine people dead the previous day, with turnout seen as key to a likely presidential bid by the army chief.
Dozens of supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi blocked a metro railway station in a Cairo suburb yesterday, security officials said, but there were no reports of disruptions to polling.
On Tuesday, sporadic clashes in various parts of the country between supporters of Morsi and their opponents and police left at least nine dead, marring what otherwise had been peaceful voting.

An Egyptian man kisses a member of the Egyptian security force after casting his ballot during the second day of voting in Alexandria. Photo: AFP

Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected and civilian president, was ousted by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in July following mass protests against his turbulent one year rule.
The constitution, which replaces the one passed under Morsi, is expected to be approved despite a boycott by his Islamist supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood.
Around 250 people were also arrested on Tuesday, among them members of the Brotherhood, for disrupting polling in areas.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in clashes since Morsi's ouster, and thousands have been arrested, including the top leadership of the Brotherhood.
Morsi's Brotherhood was designated a terrorist group by the military-installed authorities as part of their crackdown on the movement that dominated all polls since the ouster of long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak in early 2011.
US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said a clause in a Congress bill expected to pass tomorrow allows the White House to unfreeze $1.5 billion in aid to Cairo if it can certify that Egypt "has held a constitutional referendum, and is taking steps to support a democratic transition".
In October, Washington suspended the annual aid following a deadly crackdown by the Egyptian government on Morsi's supporters.
The Egyptian government hopes a large turnout in favour of the new constitution will bolster its disputed authority, while army chief Sisi will monitor it for an "indicator" of his popularity, an official close to the general said.
Interim president Adly Mansour's government has pledged the referendum will be followed by parliamentary and presidential elections.
Security forces had deployed across the country amid fears recent attacks by militants would deter voters.
Many Islamists revile Sisi after he overthrew Morsi, but the general is adored by millions who took to the streets to demand the Islamist's resignation.
Sisi is widely expected to run for president, and has said he would stand if there was "popular demand", state media reported this week.