Top Egypt Election Official Resigns

Cites "health problems"

One of the top officials in charge of overseeing Egypt's vote on a contentious Islamist-backed draft constitution resigned Wednesday citing health problems, a judicial official said. The move follows boycotts of the referendum by judges and others that have left the voting process with a severe shortage of monitors to oversee it.

Secretary General of the Election Committee Zaghloul el-Balshi attributed his resignation to "a sudden health crisis," according to a copy of a letter he sent to the committee that was published by several Egyptian dailies including the privately owned el-Watan.

The official confirmed the authenticity of the letter. Relatives told local Egyptian media that el-Balshi has undergone eye surgery.