Tunisians begin voting in referendum on new constitution
SMA NEWS – TUNIS
Voters in Tunisia went to the polls on Monday to decide on a new constitution championed by President Kais Saied that will increase the powers of the country’s executive branch while reducing those of the legislature and judiciary.
The vote is being held one year to the day since Mr Saied sacked the government, closed Parliament and took the reins of power, citing “imminent danger” to the country.
The charter, drawn up by a small group of legal scholars last month and heavily revised by Mr Saied, has divided the nation. Many, including some of the men who composed the initial draft, say it puts too much power in the hands of the executive.
Others see it as an opportunity for Mr Saied, whom they see as a clean political actor, to sweep aside opposing forces and put the nation back on track.
Mr Saied cast his ballot at Ennaser Elementary School early in the morning, with a crew from Wataniya, the national broadcaster, covering the event.
He then gave a 20-minute speech inside the polling station about the draft constitution and the next steps in his political project, despite electoral rules that ban campaigning on the day of the vote.
“We are going to establish a new republic on the day of the declaration of the Tunisian Republic,” the president said. “A republic that is different than that of the last 10 years, and even before that.”
Mr Saied’s proposed constitution would replace the charter adopted in 2014, three years after a popular uprising that toppled autocratic president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. That document was drafted by an elected constituent assembly over the course of two years and passed with a 93 per cent vote of support.
