Amr Moussa, chairman of the committee to amend the country's constitution speaks at a news conference at the Shura Council in Cairo 22 September, 2013 (Photo: Reuters)

(VOVworld) - Egypt's constitutional referendum will take place in late January 2014 instead of next month. Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi made his comments on Monday at an economic forum in Cairo, adding that the referendum was an important time for the country.

On the same day, Hisham Mokhtar, spokesman for the Supreme Electoral Commission said 67 local non-governmental organizations and 7 other international NGOs would be allowed to monitor the upcoming voting. Mokhtar said that the referendum would last from 9 a.m. to 21 p.m. local time and take place over two consecutive days. But a specific date hasn’t been set.

The head of Egypt's constitution revising committee, Amr Moussa, said that the committee would complete all necessary documents by the end of this week so that Egypt's new constitution could be put to a final vote this Saturday. Moussa said the new constitution widens the scope of freedom in a very impressive way, reinforces the principles of gender equality, and grants women greater rights.

In another development, Egyptian police on Monday fired tear-gas shells to disperse a demonstration by Al-Azhar and Assiut Universities’ students. This is the first public challenge following the controversial law against demonstrations was approved by interim President Adly Mansour last Sunday.