Carter Centre says it won’t monitor Egypt vote

Former US President Jimmy Carter's centre said Thursday it will not deploy monitors for Egypt's contentious constitutional referendum because of the government's late release of regulations for witnesses.

The decision reflects concerns that the rushed process leading to Saturday's vote has undermined the legitimacy of the disputed charter backed by President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist allies.

It also comes as rights groups warn that the breakneck pace of organizing the vote and changes to the procedure for accrediting elections monitors may lead to frauds in the vote.

Also Thursday, 20 Egyptian rights groups issued a joint statement warning of possible election fraud, and expressing concern that a state-run human rights council has taken charge of issuing monitoring permits, which in the past were obtained directly from elections committee. The council is headed by Judge Hossam el-Ghariyani, also head of the drafting panel.

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