Egyptian voters headed to the polls on Saturday in a referendum on a controversial draft constitution. According to unofficial preliminary results, the document passed the first round with 57 percent of the vote with a turnout of just 31 percent. A second round is scheduled for this Saturday in remaining areas. A coalition of human rights groups has called for a revote, citing thousands of complaints of violations at the polls, including a lack of full judicial supervision. At a news conference, Khaled Dawoud of the opposition National Salvation Front accused authorities of rigging the outcome.

Khaled Dawoud: “We also condemn the clear process of rigging of the will of the Egyptian people through regular violations of the draft — of the referendum in the first stage, which went beyond the rigging which used to take place under the former regime, which was overthrown by the January 25th revolution. We also ask the committee overseeing the referendum to look seriously into the demand made by the NGOs today that the first round of the referendum should be repeated in light of the dangerous violations which were reported in all stages, including the counting.”