Egyptians abroad began voting on Wednesday in a referendum on the new constitution that President Mohammed Morsi fast-tracked through an Islamist-dominated drafting assembly, in a setback for the opposition who had hoped to delay the process.

The official state news agency reported voting had started at Egyptian embassies abroad, the same day as the army scheduled talks between rival factions in Cairo aiming to reunite a country deeply divided by the crisis over the referendum.

Voting on the referendum at home will be spread over two days, Saturday and Dec 22.