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Egypt votes 'yes' to constitution in historic referendum (PHOTOS)
Sunday, December 23rd, 2012

Egypt finished up the second part of a vote on their new constitution Saturday, tentatively ushering it in with 64 percent approval, according to unofficial tallies done overnight. 

“Even if there are problems with certain articles, we’ll amend it in parliament,” Magda Hamza Karam, a 61 year-old housewife from Dokki who voted for Morsi in this year’s presidential election, told GlobalPost. “Why stop now? Why vote no?”

However, while the constitution is a milestone, is is also incredibly divisive. Many have pointed out to its human rights misgivings and exclusion of provisions for certain facets of Egyptian society. 

“A crack has emerged in Egypt; there’s a gap, there’s blood and deaths, there’s extremism,” said Ahmed Maher, an activist-turned-delegate in the assembly that wrote a draft of the charter. “Something has happened between Egyptians that would make the results bad no matter what the outcome of the constitutional vote." 

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Egyptian National Rescue Front leader and Former Egyptian presidential candidate Hamdin Sabahi speaks during a press conference in Cairo on December 23, 2012. Egypt's opposition said it will appeal a referendum seen as voting in a new constitution backed by ruling Islamists, and vowed to keep up a struggle that has spawned weeks of protests and instability.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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Polling station officials deposit ballots during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo, on December 22, 2012.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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Egyptian men cast their ballots during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo, on December 22, 2012. Egyptians are voting in the final round of a referendum on a new constitution championed by President Mohamed Morsi and his Islamist allies against fierce protests from the secular-leaning opposition.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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An Egyptian electoral official suts during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo, on December 22, 2012.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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An Egyptian man rides a horse past one of the three Giza pyramids, south of Cairo, on December 22, 2012. As Egypt's voters turned out for a final round of a referendum on a divisive, Islamist-backed constitution, workers at Cairo's pyramids located near some polling stations lamented the turmoil that has caused tourists to flee.

(Gianluigi Guercia - AFP/Getty Images)
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An Egyptian woman dips her finger in ink after voting in the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo, on December 22, 2012.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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Egyptian women queue outside a polling station during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo, on December 22, 2012.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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An Egyptian man readies to cast his ballot during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo, on December 22, 2012.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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Camels pass by Egyptians queuing in line outside a polling station during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo, on December 22, 2012.

(Gianluigi Guercia - AFP/Getty Images)
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An Egyptian woman casts her ballot during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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An Egyptian man casts his ballot during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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An Egyptian man casts his ballot during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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Egyptian women queue at a school being used as a polling station during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo.

(Mahmud Hams - AFP/Getty Images)
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An Egyptian woman casts her ballot with her son during the second round of a referendum on a new draft constitution in Giza, south of Cairo, on December 22, 2012. Egyptians are voting in the final round of a referendum on a new constitution championed by President Mohamed Morsi and his Islamist allies against fierce protests from the secular-leaning opposition.

(Gianluigi Guercia - AFP/Getty Images)
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