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The BBC's James Reynolds reports from outside a voting station surrounded by Yes voters
Egyptians are voting amid tight security in a two-day referendum on a new constitution that could pave the way for fresh elections.
The new charter aims to replace the constitution passed under Islamist President Mohammed Morsi months before he was ousted by the army.
The military wants a strong Yes vote to endorse Mr Morsi's removal.
His Muslim Brotherhood, now designated a terrorist group, is boycotting the vote and there are fears of violence.
Shortly before voting began, an explosion took place near a court building in Cairo's Imbaba district, although no casualties were reported.
At the scene
"Sisi is the lion of Egypt," shouts one man in a queue of voters outside a polling station at the Workers' University in Cairo's Nasr City. The rest of the crowd behind him decides to join in.
Many of the hundreds queuing up here see this referendum as a personal vote in favour of Egypt's most powerful man, armed forces chief General Sisi. "Sisi, Sisi," chants a group of women at the female entrance to the polling station.
Across the road, there are several official posters showing a green tick in favour of a Yes vote. There is no sign of any No posters. The government has used a new anti-protest law to silence the No campaign.
The security forces have made their strength - and their desire for a Yes vote - clear. Several military Chinook helicopters flew overhead. A military convoy drove outside the polling station - on the bonnet of one vehicle was a picture of Gen Sisi.
However, one person was killed during an anti-referendum protest in Bani Suef, south of Cairo, the governor there told the BBC.
A huge security operation is being mounted for the two days of voting. The interior ministry says 200,000 police officers, 150 central security units and 200 combat groups are being deployed around polling stations.
Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited one polling station in north Cairo, telling guards there: "Work hard. We need the referendum to be completely secured."
The BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo says this has been a distorted campaign, with endorsements for the new constitution flooding state-run and private TV and radio.
However, spotting any posters from the No campaign is a lot harder and people have been arrested for putting them up, our correspondent says.
Democratic or not, she says, the referendum is seen by many as more than a ballot on a new constitution - it is widely viewed as a verdict on the removal of Mr Morsi.
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Shortly before polls opened, a bomb exploded at a Cairo courthouse
State-run media were on Tuesday describing the vote as a "democratic ceremony" - a term widely used during the Hosni Mubarak era but not heard since he was ousted in the revolution of January 2011.
'Every vote'Television pictures showed long lines of voters at some Cairo polling stations.
One voter, Salah Mustafa, told the BBC: "Compared with the document that we had last year, which was a really horrible constitution, there's a lot of rights, there's a lot of concepts that we wanted to see from day one."
But Mohammed Soudan, a spokesman for the Brotherhood's political wing, said most people were boycotting the vote, adding: "This is a message that we are not recognising this kind of new power."
Interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi has called the referendum the "most critical moment" for Egypt.
Voters' views
"I will boycott because my vote doesn't matter"
Rawan Ahmed, 23
Interim President Adly Mansour said after voting: "The people must prove to dark terrorism that they fear nothing."
The new constitution was drafted by a 50-member committee that included only two representatives of Islamist parties.
The authorities maintain that it is a crucial step on the road to stability.
Under the new constitution:
- The president may serve two four-year terms and can be impeached by parliament
- Islam remains the state religion - but freedom of belief is absolute, giving some protection to minorities
- The state guarantees "equality between men and women"
- Parties may not be formed based on "religion, race, gender or geography"
- Military to appoint defence minister for next eight years
Critics say the new constitution favours the army at the expense of the people, and fails to deliver on the 2011 revolution.
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Egypt's constitutional referendum explained - in 60 seconds
A Yes vote could pave the way for fresh elections and it now seems certain that Gen Sisi, who backed Mr Morsi's removal following mass protests, will run for president.
Turnout 'key'Egypt key dates
- 25 Jan 2011: Anti-government protests begin
- 11 Feb 2011: President Hosni Mubarak resigns
- 24 June 2012: Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi wins presidential elections
- 26 Dec 2012: President Morsi signs a controversial new constitution into law following a referendum
- 3 July 2013: President Morsi is deposed after street protests
- 14 Aug 2013: Hundreds of pro-Morsi supporters killed when troops clear sit-in protests
- 4 Nov 2013: Mohammed Morsi goes on trial
- 14 Jan 2014: Referendum held on new constitution
The constitution is expected to attract a resounding Yes vote, but the turnout is key, analysts say.
The last charter, passed just over a year ago, was approved by 63.8%, but only 32.9% of the population voted.
Mohammed Morsi was Egypt's first democratically elected president but was deposed by the military last July.
He is being held in jail in Alexandria, facing several criminal charges relating to his time in office - which he says are politically motivated.
Many of the Muslim Brotherhood's senior leaders and the movement's supporters are also behind bars.
More than 1,000 people have died in violence since Mr Morsi's overthrow.
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