Egypt Holds Key Vote in Climate of Fear Egyptians are being asked to vote this week on a vision of their nation's future sponsored by the powerful military, a two-day election widely seen as a referendum on a likely presidential run by the country's top general - but held in a climate of fear and intimidation. An astounding 160,000 soldiers and 200,000 policemen were expected to deploy across Egypt on Tuesday and Wednesday to guard polling stations and voters following months of violence that authorities have blamed on Islamic militants. Supporters of Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist president ousted in a coup last summer, have said they would stage massive demonstrations and boycott the vote on a new constitution. In many ways, Egypt looks more like a country going to war rather than one preparing for what is supposedly a transition to democratic rule. The government and the overwhelmingly pro-military media have portrayed the balloting as the key to the nation's security and stability over which there can be no dissent. Hundreds of thousands of fliers, posters, banners and billboards exhort Egyptians to vote "yes." Posters urging a 'no' vote have led to arrests. "There appears to be a conviction among security officers that there should be zero accommodation for anyone who wants a 'no' vote," said Heba Morayef, the Egypt director for Human Rights Watch. Authorities have threatened legal proceedings against the owners of cyber cafes, presses and stationery stores if they allow use of their facilities for the production of 'no' fliers or posters, according to security officials. They said police commanders have instructed officers to arrest anyone distributing leaflets or hanging banners against the draft charter. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in exchange for discussing security operations. We are trying to mobilize the 'yes' vote. Anyone doing the opposite is a traitor and an American agent," said Mohammed Hamdy, a politician and local dignitary from the city of Assiut, an Islamist stronghold with a large Christian community south of Cairo. In Washington, U.S. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Monday: "We're deeply concerned by reports of ongoing arrests for campaigning for a 'no' vote on the constitutional referendum. We are also deeply troubled by reports that at least one individual was beaten during his arrest. The referendum is the sixth nationwide vote since the 2011 ouster of longtime authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak, with the five others possibly the freest ever seen in Egypt. While unlikely to be stained by fraud, this week's vote is taking place at a time when many of the freedoms won in the uprising that toppled Mubarak have vanished in the months since Morsi was removed after just one year in office. The government has detained thousands of Brotherhood members including Morsi and most of the group's leaders. Recently, the notorious domestic security agency set up hotlines for citizens to report members of the Brotherhood, which the government has declared a terrorist group. For their part, Morsi's supporters have been waging near daily protests since the popularly backed July 3 coup that ousted him.