Sarah Lynch

Special for USA TODAY

If charter is approved%2C elections could be held by summer

Referendum on the new charter is expected to easily pass

Egypt has been on a rocky transition to democracy

CAIRO — Egyptians saying "no" to a proposed new constitution were difficult to find Tuesday in a vote that may be a significant turning point for a country in turmoil since a revolution three years ago.

Most people in the capital said they supported the proposed constitution, suggesting broad support but also an indication that those who opposed the charter largely stayed home.

The referendum marks the first time Egyptian voters have cast ballots since the ouster of the country's first freely elected president and is seen as a test of legitimacy for Egypt's military leaders.

"If this constitution passes, it will lead the country to stability and allow us to move on with a democratic process," said Ahmed El Samaan, 50, an employee at a government ministry.

Some expected violence in a country where political divisions run deep and the Muslim Brotherhood, which controlled the country last year, is now outlawed as a terrorist organization. An explosion happened at a court complex early in the day. No casualties in the blast were reported.

Egyptians in front of the damaged building held posters of Egypt's army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, who forced out President Mohammed Morsi in August following several days of huge protests against Morsi's rule.

"Of course I'm voting yes," said Ali Salah, who said he was passing by on a bus when the blast happened. "The constitution will protect the country."

Security forces have been deployed at polling stations nationwide to secure the vote, which is part of a political plan announced last August by Sisi. The plan suspended the 2012 constitution, which was drafted during Morsi's one-year rule and was protested by many who said its Islamist bent infringed on the rights of political opponents, minorities, Christians and women.

The new constitution drafted by a military-backed committee would ban political parties based on religion, give women equal rights and protect the status of minority Christians.

The document also gives the military special status to select its own candidate for the job of defense minister for the next eight years and allow it to bring civilians before military tribunals for certain crimes.

The vote comes after three years of dispute and protest over the direction of the country following the overthrow of longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. The military forced Mubarak out after massive protests, which eventually gave way to elections and an elected government dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

But violence continued and protests surged last year over what Morsi's opponents said were dictatorial polices, including an edict that his rulings could not be reviewed by the courts.

Sisi, Morsi's hand-picked army chief, forced Morsi out and appointed an interim president in his place. Sisi also dissolved the legislature and oversaw the writing of the new constitution that he says will allow for new elections for parliament, possibly by summer.

His actions were condemned by President Obama, who ordered military aid to the country suspended. But he was praised by many Egyptians who said he saved the country from an Islamist dictatorship.

"We believe strongly that this constitution is much, much better than any previous constitution," said Mohamed Abou El Ghar, head of the liberal Egyptian Social Democratic Party and a member of the constitution-drafting team. "But a successful constitution doesn't mean we already finished the road map."

Any irregularity in the voting procedure would be an extremely bad sign for chances of Egypt achieving democracy, he said. Voter turnout is also important, he said.

Voting lines were short at several polling stations in the Cairo neighborhood of Sabtiya — and elsewhere in the capital. The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement of which Morsi is a member, called on Egyptians to boycott a vote it says locks in an illegal coup of an elected leader.

A judge supervising the polls, Yasmin Mohamed Nasr, was hopeful that more people would come once the workday was over.

"You cannot judge the turnout from just a few hours," she said. "And besides, the voters are happy."

But some Egyptians were less than pleased. Essam Haz, 29, casually waved four fingers in the air across the street from a polling center in Sabtiya in a sort of salute that symbolizes support for Morsi.

"I'm boycotting the vote," he said. "I don't love the Brotherhood but I'm against the military."

Moments later, a scuffle over political views erupted between Haz and neighborhood residents who back the military.

Zaid Al-Ali, a senior adviser on constitution building at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, said the proposed constitution being voted on this week is "nominally better" for democracy than the 2012 charter.

Some major changes are that the role of religion has been significantly reduced and that it "superficially provides more rights to people" and more clarity about what those rights are, he said. But the constitution does almost nothing to ensure those rights will be protected.

"The problem has always been that the rights that do exist are not being enforced… and there's nothing in this text that is going to change that," he said.

In the three years since the uprising ousted Mubarak and launched Egypt on a turbulent road to democracy, this constitution is "just one in a long series of missed opportunities," Al-Ali added