CAIRO — Egypt's president Mohammed Morsi says the disputed constitution just approved in a referendum establishes a new republic and calls on the opposition to join a dialogue to heal rifts and shift the focus to repairing the economy.
Morsi said Wednesday he acknowledges the "respectable" proportion that voted against the constitution drafted by his Islamist allies, but offered no concrete gestures to an opposition that has so far rejected his dialogue and vowed to fight the charter.
Critics say the charter restricts freedoms and enshrines Islamic rule.
Morsi said he moved swiftly to put the constitution to a referendum to end instability and open the road for development. The opposition had urged him to postpone the vote.
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