While the French are doing their level best to scuttle the EU constitution, Egyptian voters go to the polls today to vote on a referendum to clear the way to multi party presidential elections:

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) – President Hosni Mubarak urged Egyptians to vote in Wednesday’s referendum on constitutional changes that would clear the way for the nation’s first multi-candidate presidential elections.

Opponents of the referendum were hard to find in the early hours of polling, but it wasn’t clear whether their absence was due to opposition calls to boycott the referendum because of the proposed strict rules on opposition participation in elections, or disinterest in voting for a measure sure to pass.

Police and government supporters broke up a demonstration of about 20 members of the anti-Mubarak group Kifaya, or “Enough” around midday.

The Mubarak supporters shouted at the Kifaya members from behind police who were closing in. One young woman fainted, and anti-Mubarak protesters were violently squeezed into a tight area while police beat some demonstrators with batons.

Opponents of the referendum point to a provision that makes it very difficult, if not impossible for opposition candidates to get on the ballot. The referendum requires candidates to get endorsements or recommendations from 250 MPs and local council members, in which Mubarak’s National Democratic Party dominates.

The main opposition to the referendum is focused with the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood (which, let us not forget, was run for a time by bin Laden’s best bud Aiman al-Zawahiri). Mubarak has used his heavy hand in the past and police recently started to crack down harder on the group:

CAIRO (Reuters) – A crackdown on Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has put the movement center stage as the government yields to demands for reform, but the conflict between the state and the Islamists is unlikely to escalate, analysts say.

Police have detained some 800 members of the influential group since March, including several of the leaders active in a broad-based campaign of demonstrations for more political freedom in the Arab world’s most populous nation.

The Brotherhood will take the blows in its stride and bide its time because its powerbase is secure, it knows it cannot outwit the vast Egyptian police force and resorting to violence would only play into government hands, the analysts said.

“They are willing to bear 10 times as many blows. They understand the nature of this phase and understand that any escalation will not be in their interests,” said Diaa Rashwan, an analyst who specializes in Islamist movements.

The prominence of the Brotherhood in opposition to President Hosni Mubarak also raises questions about the attitude of the United States, which says it favors political freedom but has not criticized the crackdown in public.

The Brotherhood has seen periods of repression much more severe than this during almost eight decades as a permanent feature in the Egyptian political landscape.

“They know they are no match to the security apparatus. They will keep a low profile as they have done for the past two or three decades,” said Walid Kazziha, professor of political science at the American University in Cairo.

Abdel Moneim Aboul Futouh, a Brotherhood leader, told Reuters the organization would keep up the pressure, using solely political methods.

“The Brotherhood will continue. There is nothing to fear from the Brotherhood. They remain committed to peaceful means whatever it costs them for the sake of the goals of reform,” he said in an interview.

The balance of power has however shifted in the Brotherhood’s favor because the government faces a broad front of opposition forces demanding free and fair elections and an end to the emergency law which gives the authorities wide powers to detain opponents and restrict political activity.

Secretary Rice has stepped up the pressure of Mubarak, calling for freedom in the Middle East, which groups like the Muslim Brotherhood has seized upon as tacit support.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: See this gruesome report over at Abu Aardvark, which details how Mubarak’s hired henchmen beat dozens of men and women taking part in Kifaya demonstrations. He has the best coverage. Absolutely gruesome.