World Bulletin / News Desk

The Egyptian army said Saturday that it would deploy 160,000 troops across Egypt to safeguard the voting process during this week's referendum on an amended version of the 2012 constitution.

In a Facebook statement, army spokesman Ahmed Mohamed Ali said the army personnel would be deployed to secure 30,317 polling stations nationwide.

Additional personnel from the Navy, Air Force, border guards and military police would be on alert to assist the troops guarding the polling stations, he added.

Ali said the troops would counter any attempt to disrupt the referendum "very firmly" in line with law.

An Interior Ministry source, meanwhile, said that measures would be taken to secure polling stations.

The source, however, did not specify the number of personnel who would be used in safeguarding the voting process.

The vote is the first step in an army-imposed roadmap for Egypt's transition following the July 3 ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi.

The pro-Morsi National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy has called for voters to boycott the referendum, which it describes as "illegitimate".