Efforts to persuade Egyptians to vote ‘yes’ to a new constitution are gathering pace, ahead of the nationwide vote taking place between 14 and 15 January.

Defence Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has called for Egyptians to take part in the referendum to “correct the democratic march and build a democratic state”.

Elections are expected to follow the referendum and El-Sisi has reportedly said he will consider a strong yes vote as a green light that Egyptians want him to run for president. “If I run for the presidency, it must be by the request of the people and with a mandate from my army,” Egypt’s state-run news agency reported him as saying.

The new constitution has been drafted by the interim government, which came into power in mid-2013 after the military ousting of former president Mohamed Mursi on 3 July.

Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood-backed government drew up its own amended constitution at the beginning of 2013, which was passed by a referendum.  

However, the legal document was heavily criticised for giving too much power to the brotherhood.

The latest draft of the constitution has also come under fire, particularly for certain rulings that protect the army.

The army will be able to continue to try civilians in military courts and rules that military chiefs must have final approval over the appointment of defence ministers for the next eight years.

Human rights groups have also spoken out against efforts to quash ‘no’ campaigns against the constitution. Political activists have been allegedly arrested for hanging up ‘no’ vote posters.

“Egyptian citizens should be free to vote for or against the new constitution, not fear arrest for simply campaigning for a ‘no’ vote,” says Joe Stork, Middle East and North Africa deputy director at the US-headquartered Human Rights Watch. “Protecting the right to vote requires safeguarding the right to free expression.”

The Muslim Brotherhood has called for the referendum to be boycotted, stating the vote will only “entrench the military’s interests” and “take Egypt further away from democracy”.