President Mohammed Mursi over the weekend set December 15, 2012 for the vote.

Egypt’s President, Mohammed Mursi, over the weekend announced the holding of a referendum on the country’s new constitution on December 15, 2012 amidst demonstrations by supporters and opponents of a recent presidential decree granting him more powers. The document was adopted last week by the Constituent Assembly that wrote it and has since been handed over to the Head of State, Reuters news agency said.

President Mursi made the announcement on Saturday, December 1, 2012 before members of the Constituent Assembly and Senate. With the announcement of the referendum, the Constituent Assembly has been dissolved. Earlier yesterday, December 2, 2012, Islamist protesters prevented judges of the Constitutional Court from meeting in the capital, Cairo, to rule on the draft constitution. Supporters of the President wanted to block any ruling that would question the document's legality. The AFP news agency reported that hundreds of thousands of pro-Mursi supporters demonstrated on Saturday as he called the referendum – a day after his opponents also staged a massive demonstration.

Mursi told members of the Constituent Assembly and Senate that the constitution reflected the revolution that saw the downfall of the regime of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. The President therefore called on both supporters and opponents of the constitution to vote on December 15 as the nation will only be built with the participation of all. Democracy, he pointed out, is all about participation. He called for national discussions on problems plaguing the country to put an end to the transition as soon as possible. This, he said, would help protect the nation’s young democracy.

Opponents of the draft document warn that it will open up the way for a religious state. Highlights of the constitution include wide-ranging powers for the President, the retention of the principles of Islamic Sharia law as the main source of legislation and a ban on the arrest and detention of journalists for their views or publications. However, courts will still have the right to shut down erring newspapers and Parliament can reduce the powers of the Constitutional Court and fire stubborn judges, RFI radio reported.