Tunisians are voting this Monday (25) in a referendum for a new and controversial constitution for the country imposed by President Kais Saied. The text reinforces presidential powers, which, for international analysts, could mean the risk of the country, the cradle of the Arab Spring, returning to an authoritarian regime.
Tunisia is facing serious economic difficulties, exacerbated by the Covid-19 outbreak and war in Ukraine, on which it is dependent for wheat imports. President Kais Saied assumed full powers a year ago, pointing to the supposed unmanageability of the country, and this has only increased political polarization.
Voter turnout is a key issue in this referendum, where a “yes” has a good chance of winning, as the main opposition parties have abstained without consultation, condemning an “illegal process”.
Farouk Bouasker, head of Tunisia’s electoral authority, estimates that three and a half hours after the polls opened, more than 6% of the 9.3 million registered voters cast their ballots, an “encouraging” number. At noon, the share reached 12%. The first results will be announced by Tuesday (26).
The referendum does not require a minimum majority, which means that only a simple majority must pass.
“Great Hope”
Voter turnout at polling stations in central Tunisia was higher than expected. 57-year-old waiter Imed Hezzi said, “We have great hope on July 25. Tunisia will prosper from today.”
Retired Mongia Aouanallah, 62, said she hopes “a better life for our children’s children to live better” because “everything is a disaster”.
43-year-old day laborer Ridha Nefzi agrees. “At least we have the opportunity to repair the country. Now a new chapter begins,” he said.
The Tunisian president urged voters to ratify the Constitution to “establish a new Republic based on true freedom, true justice and national dignity”.
The new Magna Carta breaks away from the parliamentary system in effect since 2014 and establishes a hyper-presidential regime that gives broad powers to the head of state.
The President appoints the head of government and ministers and can dismiss them as he sees fit. It can present legislative texts that have “priority” to Parliament. A second House could also be formed to represent the regions as a counterweight to the existing House of Representatives, in which deputies act.
However, the opposition and many NGOs condemned a “tailor-made” constitution for Saied. Fear is the authoritarian orientation of an unaccountable president. Lawyer Sadok Belaid, who was commissioned by Kais Saied to write the new Constitution, rejected the final text, believing it “could pave the way for a dictatorial regime”.
isolated president
A complex figure in Tunisian politics, President Saied has been exercising power more and more alone lately. The 64-year-old actor sees the Constitutional revision as an extension of the “correction” that began when he sacked the prime minister on 25 July 2021 and froze Parliament before dissolving it in March, citing political and economic blockades. The only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring.
But President Saied claims to have taken over the 2011 Revolution and wants to close his braces of 10 years of inefficient and “corrupt” governments.
54-year-old voter Baya said, “They have been in power for more than 10 years without doing anything, let this man work! We believe in him and we will support him until the end.”
Said Benarbia, regional director of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), said Monday that the new text “gives almost all powers to the president and abolishes all systems and institutions that could control him.” He proposes a “Judgment subject to the Executive”, giving “more authority than the 1959 Constitution”, which was prepared under the leadership of Habib Bourguiba, and removing the separation of powers.
“There are no guarantees that can protect Tunisians from violations,” adds Benarbia, convinced that the new Constitution “codifies autocracy.”
Spaces of freedom are guaranteed, but the problem of returning to a dictatorial regime similar to that of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali may arise “after Kais Saied,” said analyst Youssef Cherif, director of the Columbia Global Centers in Tunisia.
For the majority of the population, the priority is different, given slow economic growth (about 3%), high unemployment (about 40% of youth), widespread inflation and the rise in the number of poor people to 4 million. It is a country with a population of nearly 12 million.
Tunisia, which owes more than 100% of GDP and is on the verge of default, is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new loan with a good chance. However, negotiation will require sacrifices (particularly reducing subsidies for essential products), a measure that is likely to cause further social unrest in the country.
*With information from AFP
source: Noticias
[author_name]
