Following the 2011 Revolution and election of Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhammad Morsi to the presidency, the term "liberal" was used loosely in Egypt to refer to those who rallied around opposition to Morsi and the 2012 constitution. On November 22, 2012, Morsi had issued a decree granting himself "extraordinary, unquestioned authority". He had also "rammed" a new constitution through the constitutional assembly which included "expanded presidential powers, protections for the military, and a highly illiberal social agenda". The constitution was passed in a December 2012 referendum with low 33% turnout. This liberal bloc has been described as "really a coalition between genuine liberals, socialists, and some of the less objectionable Mubarak loyalists", or as "the flock of non-Islamist political parties and figures routinely lumped together as `liberals,` despite the fact that many of them have rejected any notion of political pluralism, a defining characteristic of liberalism."