A referendum on Tunisia's new draft constitution began Monday. More than 11,000 polling stations opened in the republic for more than 9 million citizens who are eligible to vote, Mosaique FM reported. People will be able to express their will until 22:00 local time (24:00 Moscow time). The Higher Independent Electoral Commission is expected to release the results on July 26.
On June 30, Tunisia's official newspaper published the text of the new constitution as drafted by the president, which, according to Sadok Belaid, head of the advisory committee for drafting the document, had "serious discrepancies" with the draft he had previously proposed. Belaid pointed to "unacceptable chapters" in the text that would allow the president to establish a "dictatorial regime." A number of political and public figures believe that Tunisian President Kais Saied excluded all provisions limiting the powers of the head of state from the constitution proposed by Sadok Belaid and weakened the role of parliament and the judiciary. In their view, "this negates the democratic achievements" won by Tunisians during the 2011 revolution.
Tunisia's president rejected these claims and said his version of the constitution did not violate human rights and freedoms. "The basic law is first and foremost a reflection of the spirit of the nation, it does not infringe on the rights and freedoms [of citizens] in any way," he said. Kais Saied called the referendum on the constitution "an opportunity to save the country" and urged Tunisians to approve his proposed version of the new basic law.
The draft of the new constitution grants the head of state greater powers - he is expected to be commander-in-chief of the armed forces, as well as head of the executive and will be able to appoint and dismiss the prime minister at his discretion, and will have the privileged right of legislative initiative.
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Photo: Citizen59/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS