Nearly 64 percent of Egyptians voted to approve a new constitution over the weekend that had been criticized for emphasizing Islamic law and failing to adequately protect the rights of women, religious minorities, government opponents, and others. The constitutional draft had been rushed through passage by the country’s Islamist-dominated constitutional assembly in the midst of a political crisis, triggered when Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-linked President Mohamed Morsi attempted to insulate his office from all judicial oversight and grant himself sweeping powers. Egypt’s Vice President Mahmoud Mekki announced his resignation on December 22, citing incompatibility between serving in the government and his background as a judge.

[Photo: Mona / Wiki Commons]