Egypt awaits results of constitution vote 23 December 2012 Last updated at 01:54 Egyptians are awaiting the results of the second phase of a referendum on a divisive constitution. Early exit polls suggest the text will pass, but the fault lines it has opened up threaten to fuel further turmoil. Critics say the document favours Islamists and betrays the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak last year. On Saturday, the final day of voting in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces, the country's Vice-President Mahmoud Mekki announced his resignation. Over the past month, seven of President Mohammed Morsi's 17 top advisers have resigned. Mr Mekki, a former judge who was appointed vice-president in August, said the "nature of politics" did not suit his professional background. Late on Saturday, state television announced that the central bank governor, Farouq al-Uqdah, had also resigned from his post. However, a cabinet official later denied the report. Mr Morsi's supporters say the proposed constitution will secure democracy and provide stability for the weak economy. But its opponents accuse the president of pushing through a text that favours Islamists and ignores the rights of Christians, who make up about 10% of the population, and women. According to one report, quoting an official from the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, after nearly four million votes had been counted there was a majority of 74% in favour of the constitution. One Egyptian, 19-year-old law student Ahmed Mohammed, said he voted "yes" because Egypt "needs a constitution to be stable." But at the same polling station in Giza, south-west of the capital, 50-year-old housewife, Zarifa Abdul Aziz, said: "I will vote 'no' a thousand times. I am not comfortable with the Brotherhood and all that it is doing. In the first round, on 15 December, turnout was reported to be just above 30% with unofficial counts suggesting some 56% of those who cast ballots voted in favour of the draft. Outcry Mr Mekki, 58, announced his resignation just hours before the end of voting on Saturday. Observers here say that choosing to announce his official resignation only hours before the results of the referendum meant he did not want to be associated with the voting process or its consequences. There's also speculation that this resignation implies the draft constitution has already passed. Because, according to the new charter, the president is not obligated to hire a vice-president, in which case Mr Mekki was pre-empting the vote. Mahmoud Mekki is one of the most high profile judges in Egypt. He said, in a statement read on television: "I realised a while ago that the nature of politics does not suit my professional background as a judge." Mr Mekki said he had tried to resign on 7 November but that circumstances had forced him to remain. After an outcry, the president revoked much of the 22 November decree, but he refused to back down on the draft constitution. The text was rushed through by a constituent assembly dominated by Islamists and boycotted by liberal and left-wing members, and facing a threat of dissolution by the country's top court. Egypt has seen mass demonstrations by both sides, which have occasionally turned violent, ever since.