Voting is due to resume in Egypt in a two-day referendum on a new constitution drawn up since the military forced out Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The military is pushing for a Yes vote to endorse his removal last July. Polls reopen at 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT).With security tight, Tuesday's voting was reported to be broadly peaceful.Nine people nevertheless died in clashes involving Morsi supporters.The new charter is to replace the constitution passed under Morsi before he was ousted.Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which the military-backed government considers a terrorist group, is boycotting the vote.A clear picture of turnout has yet to emerge. Al-Hayat TV cited the justice ministry as saying it "exceeded 50% in many polling stations" on the first day of the vote.However, much of the media, which has been endorsing the new constitution, is widely seen as reflecting the government's point of view.State-run media were on Tuesday describing the vote as a "democratic ceremony" - a term widely used during the Hosni Mubarak era but not heard since he was ousted in the revolution of January 2011.The vote is expected to come out in favour of the new charter.A huge security operation began on Tuesday, with some 160,000 soldiers and more than 200,000 policemen deployed nationwide.Morsi supporters clashed with security forces in several parts of Egypt:•    Four people were killed and more wounded in clashes in the Upper Egypt city of Sohag, though details of the incident are disputed•    One person died in Nahia, in the Giza district of Cairo•    Another was killed during an anti-referendum protest in Bani Suef, south of Cairo, the governor there told the BBC•    Three people - Morsi supporters according to security sources - are reported to have been shot dead in the Cairo suburb of KerdasaElectionsThe referendum is believed likely to lead to elections later in the year and army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who backed the overthrow of Morsi, is considered almost certain to stand for the post of president.Wearing dark sunglasses and khaki fatigues, he visited a polling station in north Cairo, telling guards there: "Work hard. We need the referendum to be completely secured."One voter in Cairo, Salah Mustafa, told the BBC: "Compared with the document that we had last year, which was a really horrible constitution, there's a lot of rights."But Mohammed Soudan, a spokesman for the Brotherhood's political wing, said most people were boycotting the vote, adding: "This is a message that we are not recognising this kind of new power."The new constitution was drafted by a 50-member committee that included only two representatives of Islamist parties.The authorities maintain that it is a crucial step towards stability.Under the new constitution:•    The president may serve two four-year terms and can be impeached by parliament•    Islam remains the state religion - but freedom of belief is absolute, giving some protection to minorities•    The state guarantees "equality between men and women"•    Parties may not be formed based on "religion, race, gender or geography"•    Military to appoint defence minister for next eight yearsCritics say the new charter favours the army at the expense of the people, and fails to deliver on the 2011 revolution.US aidIn a separate development, there are signs Washington could be on the verge of restoring $1.5bn (£1bn) in US aid to Egypt.A clause within a federal spending bill in Congress authorises resuming aid if there are convincing signs that a "democratic transition" is under way.The aid, including support for the military, was suspended last year in response to the crackdown on pro-Morsi protests.Mohammed Morsi, who was Egypt's first democratically elected president, is being held in jail in Alexandria, facing several criminal charges relating to his time in office. He says they are politically motivated.(thedailystar.net)ANN.Az