Egypt's top judicial body to oversee referendum
04 Dec 2012
Egypt's top judicial body has said it would oversee a referendum on a new constitution, Egyptian state media has reported.
The move comes a following another body of judges, the Judges' Club, urging its members to refuse to preside over the vote, scheduled for 15 December.
The draft constitution along with a decree by President Mohammed Morsi extending his powers have led to widespread protests.
The Judges' Club, a powerful but unofficial body representing judges across the country, has called on its members to boycott the vote, with the aim of undermining the credibility of the ballot.
However, according to Mohamed Gadallah, the legal adviser to President Morsi, the Supreme Judicial Council had now met and "agreed to delegate judges to oversee the constitutional referendum".
Meanwhile the BBC's Jon Leyne reported from Cairo that the council's apparent decision was important as judges were required to supervise the vote at each polling station. According to Gadallah around 10,000 members of the judiciary would be needed to monitor the process.
