The draft constitution dismissed by the Tunisian opposition as bogus which is being put to a referendum establishes an ultra-presidential regime granting vast powers to the head of state.
More than nine million Tunisians were called to the polls on Monday 25 July 2022 for a referendum on the draft new constitution proposed by President Kaïs Saied.
The draft of the head of state aims to strengthen the powers of the president.
More than 11,000 polling stations opened on Monday morning and will close at 11pm, according to the ISIE (the electoral authority), which is organising a vote that the president says will put an end to the political crisis caused by his coup de force a year ago.
The turnout was just under 12% at 2pm, said ISIE President Farouk Bouasker,
No quorum is required to validate the results of this referendum, in which YES is the favourite to win, despite the opposition’s call for a boycott of the ballot box.
The draft constitution establishes an ultra-presidential regime granting vast powers to the head of state, contrary to the parliamentary system installed after the fall of the autocratic regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and on which Kaïs Saïed blames the recurrent conflicts between parliament and the government of the last ten years.
In the new draft, the president, supreme head of the army, exercises executive power with the help of a head of government whom he appoints and can dismiss at a whim, without the need to obtain the confidence of Parliament.
He approves laws and can also submit legislation to parliament considered a “priority”.
Opposition and rights activists have denounced the draft as “tailor-made” for President Said, and an excessive concentration of power in the hands of an unaccountable president.
Tunisia is facing a deep financial crisis with a national debt exceeding 100% of GDP.
The country has been negotiating a new loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for several months to redress the economic situation.
HA/los/lb/as/APA