The president of Tunisia presents questionable modifications to his proposed constitution

First modification: 07/10/2022 – 00:28

The president had assured that he would solve the “errors of form and others present in the provisions that infiltrated the draft” that he presented on June 30 by assuring that “to err is human, fortunately there is the possibility of correcting and revising”. However, the changes presented do not meet the expectations of the critics of the text.

The modifications that Said assured that he would make focus mainly on two points, the first, on the place that the religion of Islam occupies in the nation and the second, regarding the rights and freedoms of citizens.

The opposition in Tunisia is headed by the Islamist Ennahda party, which came first in the last elections and which has the support of Turkey and Qatar. Therefore, the modification of the place occupied by the religion of Islam, the majority in the country, is a critical point to touch on in the Magna Carta.

A questioned secularism in the State as a proposal

In the 2014 Constitution, which is the one that the president intends to change, it is established in the first article that “Tunisia is a free, independent and sovereign State, Islam is its religion, Arabic its language and the Republic its regime”.

The draft presented by Said relegates the religious issue to article 5 and proposes that “Tunisia is part of the Islamic Ummah, and the State is the only one that must work to achieve the objectives of Islam while preserving the soul and honor.”

The Ummah is the term used in the Koran to designate the Muslim community, if this modification is approved, the country would approach a secular position never seen in Arab countries, although some doubt this, according to Vicent Geisser, of the Research Institute and Studies on the Arab and Muslim World. What is being done is “taking Islam out the door and reintroducing it through the window,” says the expert.

On the other hand, the second controversial point of the proposal in article 55 establishes that many individual rights of citizens can be altered or suppressed in cases where the security of the State or public order is compromised.

The separation of powers, in question

Said has defended the draft Constitution and has also called on citizens to vote “Yes”, ensuring that the text does not represent any risk to the rights and freedoms of the population.

However, the proposal is rejected by at least 30 organizations, including the Tunisian League for Human Rights, the Tunisian Organization against Torture or the National Union of Journalists, who say it is too presidential and calls into question the separation of powers in the country.

The jurist Sadok Belaid, president of the consultative body that was in charge of drafting the first document, (the High National Consultative Committee for the new Republic of Tunisia) disassociated himself from the final published draft, asserting that this was not the one that was originally presented to the president and that in the text there are “serious dangers and traps” that could “pave the way to a shameful dictatorial regime”.

In addition, on June 29, the International Commission of Jurists, CIJ, assured that the “reform aims to codify the authoritarianism that has already existed for a year” and denounced that “the Executive, Legislative and Judicial powers are not recognized as separate powers. , but as mere functions”, said Saïd Benerbia, director of the North Africa and Middle East program of the ICJ.

The ICJ has also pointed out that the new proposal lacks real revisions in the drafting process that undermine democratic legitimacy and does not comply with the reform standards established in the 2014 Constitution. It also denounced that the new Constitution could be approved even though the participation of the population is very low.

If Said’s proposal is endorsed, the new text will replace the Magna Carta approved in 2014, created after the 2011 overthrow of Zine Abidine ben Ali, who was deposed after massive protests during the Arab Spring.

Said took office in October 2019 after the presidential elections were held in September of that same year.

On July 25 of last year, he took full power after suspending the Legislative power, with a blockade of Parliament and eliminating the position of prime minister, he also dissolved the Superior Council of the Magistracy and later dismissed 57 judges by decree. presidential.

This constitutional referendum will be the first in the country’s history, the consultation is scheduled for July 25, while the legislative elections are scheduled for December 17.

With information from Reuters, EFE and AP