Egyptian expats vote in referendum poll Wednesday

Voting in constitutional referendum opens for Egyptians living abroad despite continued protests at presidential palace Egyptian expats began voting in the country's constitutional referendum on Wednesday. The poll was scheduled to open on Saturday but was delayed after violent clashes took place the previous Wednesday between supporters and opponents of the draft constitution and President Morsi's constitutional declaration. The clashes began when pro-Morsi protesters attacked a peaceful opposition sit-in outside the presidential palace. At least eight people were killed in the violence that followed. The Muslim Brotherhood has claimed most of the dead were members of the group. The foreign ministry says there are around eight million Egyptian living abroad. Only 300,000 participated in last year's presidential election runoff. Voters in Egypt will cast their ballots on 15 December as scheduled. Rival protests for and against the draft constitution took place in Cairo on Tuesday. The general assembly of the Judges Club on Tuesday officially announced its members would not oversee the referendum. From Ahramonline