CCTV9英语新闻：埃及新宪法草案公投开始

Egyptians started casting their votes on Tuesday on the country's new draft constitution, which is widely seen as a milestone during Egypt's political transition after Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted last July.

The two-day referendum opened at 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) in the country's 27 governorates and was scheduled to close at 9 p. m. (1900 GMT).

The new constitution is a prior stage in the country's future roadmap after Morsi's ouster by the military following mass protests against his one-year rule and his Muslim Brotherhood group, which has recently been declared by the interim government as a "terrorist organization."

If the draft constitution is approved, Egypt will go through parliamentary and presidential elections, and the post-Morsi transitional period will come to an end in mid-June, 2014, six months after the referendum.

The new constitution is meant to replace the one drafted and