Tunisia votes in referendum a new Constitution designed to the taste of the president

First modification: 07/25/2022 – 20:46

Tunisians vote for the first time in their history in a referendum and will have to decide on the “Yes” or “No” ballot for a new Constitution. If the vote that wins is affirmative, then the Magna Carta dating from 2014 would be renewed, but its controversial wording has generated numerous criticisms focused on reversing the hard-won democratic gains in this African nation.

From its conception to its final content, this project, President Kaïs Said’s roadmap, aspires to establish an “ultra-presidentialist” system, as different jurists have warned, with broad prerogatives for the Head of State and in the absence of counter-powers, as well as separation of powers.

In September of last year, Said created Decree 117 to suspend almost the entire Constitution and give himself control of most state affairs, as well as rule by decree.

A year of extra powers for Said in light of the current Constitution

Tunisia has a semi-parliamentary political regime, but with presidential prerogatives limited to diplomacy and defense. Said’s government was transformed into a vast power that has given him the power to dismiss an unstoppable list of ministers, including Defense and Justice, governors, high-ranking security officials, judges, heads of public institutions and companies.

All these powers to govern gave Said the authority to decree exactly one year ago (on July 25, 2021) the state of exception -with which he froze Parliament and fired his government- after a day of mobilizations against the class leader due to the management of successive governments, ten in the last decade of the democratic transition that began in 2011 with the fall of the dictatorship of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

Since then, Said has had all the powers in a year. The country is experiencing an exceptional situation described by its critics as “a coup d’état”, but celebrated by Tunisians who had become exasperated with the country’s political elites and years of economic stagnation.

Indeed, during this last year, other of his excesses have been investigations and prosecutions, including military proceedings against civilians that multiplied against businessmen, deputies, activists and magistrates, some for “insults” against the president on social networks.

In the year since then, Said has indulged in rule by decree and fired dozens of judges, decisions that have sparked a series of protests. This referendum is the result of that transition that now has an uncertain course.

The opposition, made up of the political majority, has called for a boycott and critics warn that a low turnout in this referendum would put the president’s legitimacy to the test because it does not contemplate a minimum participation threshold for the final approval of the constitutional draft.

In fact, of the 9.2 million Tunisians called to vote in this consultation, 11.8% of the census had attended the polls until noon, local time, according to the Independent Higher Authority for Elections (ISIE). The elections will close at 22:00.

The so-called “New Tunisia” government project must end on December 17, the date proclaimed as the National Day of the “true” revolution and on which the end of the state of emergency is scheduled, however, the opposition believes that it will only be the beginning of his “authoritarian drift”.

What would change with a new Constitution in Tunisia

If the new Magna Carta is approved, it would replace the current one from 2014 and would form a political system that goes from being parliamentary, like the current one, to an “ultra-presidential” one.

The new Constitution would then grant all executive powers and remove key checks and balances.

The power of the Tunisian judiciary and parliament would be greatly reduced. Jurists have warned about the lack of judicial independence and the separation of powers that guarantee the rule of law in the new text, which they point out “codifies authoritarianism.”

Critics warn that Said’s new political structure could pave the way for a new autocracy in the country that rose up against Ben Ali 11 years ago and sparked the pro-democracy protests of the Arab Spring.

Civil society has denounced the dismantling of State institutions, dissolved and replaced by decree, which questions their independence.

The Tunisian president, who insists on the creation of a “New Republic”, based the current political roadmap on a digital poll carried out in January in which around 5% of registered voters participated.

With AP and EFE