Egyptian voters overwhelmingly OK constitution

Egypt's new constitution was approved by about 98 percent of voters in a referendum the army-backed government called a key step in its plan to transition the nation to democracy after Mohammed Morsi's ouster.

Voter turnout was 38.6 percent, Nabil Salib, head of the Supreme Election Commission, told reporters in Cairo, with about 20 million of 53 million eligible citizens casting ballots. The two-day referendum was boycotted by the Muslim Brotherhood, which fielded Morsi for the presidency and denounced the vote as an attempt to legitimize a military coup. At least four people were killed and 15 wounded in clashes Friday between security forces and Islamists, the Health Ministry said.

"What's important in the constitution is not its meaning, but its credibility on the ground and what it guarantees in terms of the principles of justice and equality among all Egyptians," Salib said.

The constitution, drafted by a panel dominated by secularists, is designed to replace a charter approved with a 33 percent turnout under Morsi and written by a mostly Islamist committee. Presidential and parliamentary elections will follow later this year.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged the interim government to "fully implement" the rights and freedoms in the new constitution.

"It's what comes next that will shape Egypt's political, economic and social framework for generations," he said.

For the government, which has been grappling with near-daily protests and clashes amid a heavy crackdown on the Brotherhood, the vote marks a milestone. Authorities, backed by the media and businessmen, pressed hard for a "yes" vote, with TV commercials and billboards across Cairo and other cities and authorities equating support for the charter as a rejection of "terrorism."