Judge Zaghloul El-Balshi, secretary-general of the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC), on Wednesday announced he would be unable to supervise the second round of Egypt's constitutional referendum after undergoing eye surgery.

Rumors circulated on Tuesday that El-Balshi had withdrawn from the SEC for political reasons, but this has now been denied.

It is still unknown who will replace him.

The first phase of Egypt's referendum took place on 15 December across 10 governorates.

Unofficial final results of the first round show 56.5 per cent approval for the draft charter, while 'No' votes reached 43.5 per cent.

The second phase of voting includes the remaining 17 governorates.