Morsi calls constitution referendum on Dec 15 as rifts widen

President Mohammed Morsi President Mohammed Morsi called on Egyptians on Saturday to vote in a December 15 referendum on the controversial draft constitution at the heart of a political crisis, amid mass Islamist rallies in Cairo. Morsi made the announcement following a ceremony where he received a copy of the charter from the head of the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly, boycotted by liberals and Christians, that adopted it the day before.
Hundreds of thousands of Islamists rallied from early on Saturday in support of Morsi's new expanded powers and the contested charter, which has taken centre stage in the country's worst political crisis since his election in June.
The crowds flooded the squares and large avenues near Cairo University, led by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, on whose ticket Morsi ran for office, and by hardline Salafists, causing traffic jams in the capital.
On Friday opponents of the draft constitutions had massed in Tahrir Square, demonstrating the country's widening polarisation, squaring largely Islamist forces against secular-leaning opponents.
"We want this phase to end. We want a constitution. If people don't like the constitution, let them say so through the ballot boxes," one protester said on Saturday.
Others chanted: "The people want the implementation of God's law."
"We are here to support the decisions of Mohammed Morsi; we support him because those decisions were a part of the revolutionary demands," said Hend Abdellateef.
Veiled women ululated among the crowd, sprinkled with Egyptian and Saudi flags and posters of Morsi, with banners reading: "Together (with Morsi) to save the revolution".
"There are people who want instability," said Khaled, one of the demonstrators, referring to anti-Morsi protesters. "There needs to be a constitution for there to be stability."
Pro-Morsi protests were also staged in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and the central Egyptian province of Assiut.
In Cairo, one demonstrator died and 24 others were injured when a tree fell near the main stage near the university.
The Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters have branded the opposition enemies of the revolution that toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Across the Nile River, hundreds of protesters camping out in Tahrir Square since Morsi issued a decree assuming sweeping powers were joined by more demonstrators throughout the day.
The National Rescue Front - a coalition of opponents led by dissident former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, ex-Arab League chief Amr Mussa and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi - has called on the decree's opponents to keep up the pressure.
It said Egyptians should "reject the illegitimate" decree and the "void" draft constitution, and stressed the public's right "to use any peaceful method to protest including a general strike and civil disobedience."
The crisis was sparked when Morsi issued the decree on November 22 giving himself sweeping powers and placing his decisions beyond judicial review, provoking mass protests and a judges' strike.
His decree prevented the top legal body the Supreme Constitutional Court from potentially dissolving the Islamist-run constituent assembly, in a ruling it was to make on Sunday on the body's legality.
"Rushing through a draft while serious concerns about key rights protections remain unaddressed will create huge problems," said Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch.
Amnesty International said the draft "raises concerns about Egypt's commitment to human rights treaties," specifically ignoring "the rights of women (and) restricting freedom of expression in the name of religion."
In an interview broadcast on Thursday night, Morsi again stressed that his new powers would expire once the constitution was ratified, a point Islamist supporters have repeatedly made in his favour.
The Brotherhood and the secular-leaning opposition had stood side by side in Tahrir Square in 2011 as they fought to bring down Mubarak and his regime.
But since Mubarak's downfall in February 2011, the Islamist movement has been accused of monopolising power.