“Do you approve of the draft of the new Constitution of the Tunisian Republic?” More than nine million Tunisians are invited to answer this question, Monday, July 25, during a constitutional referendum. At 8:30 a.m., three and a half hours after the opening of the offices, more than 6% of them had voted, according to the electoral authority. A particularly scrutinized figure, the main opposition parties having called for a boycott of the poll. Franceinfo answers four questions about this controversial draft Constitution.
1What does the draft Constitution contain?
The new Constitution submitted to the vote establishes a hyper-presidential regime, by massively reinforcing the powers of the Head of State. A complete reversal compared to the 2014 Constitution, voted after “the Arab spring” and which voluntarily limited the role of the president, to avoid autocratic regimes. If this new Constitution were adopted, Kais Saïed could thus enjoy vast prerogatives without having to render accounts.
In the draft, the president appoints the head of government and the ministers and can dismiss them as he sees fit, without the need to obtain the confidence of Parliament. It ratifies the laws and can submit legislative texts. To bring down the government, Parliament can vote a motion of censure, but with a two-thirds majority. On the other hand, for the president, the Constitution does not provide for a dismissal procedure. Finally, the Head of State will be able to appoint magistrates on the proposal of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, which was previously the prerogative.
The jurist Sadok Belaïd, charged by President Kaïs Saïed with drawing up the new Constitution, disavowed the final text, believing that it could “opening the way to a dictatorial regime”. Asked by AFP, researcher Youssef Cherif believes that the Constitution “could build an authoritarian regime resembling the regimes Tunisia experienced before 2011”the dictatorship of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and the autocratic regime of independence hero Habib Bourguiba.
2In what context is the referendum taking place?
The country has been in the grip of a deep political crisis since the president seized all power a year ago. Aged 64, Kaïs Saïed considers his overhaul of the Constitution as an extension of the “course correction” engaged on July 25, 2021, when he dismissed his Prime Minister and froze Parliament before dissolving it in March.
The draft Constitution marks a break with the parliamentary system in place since 2014. Established in the wake of the 2011 revolution, this regime was a source of conflict between Parliament and the government. The country is also plunged into economic difficulties. After shrinking by 8.7% during the Covid crisis, Tunisia’s GDP only grew by 3% in 2021, according to the World Bank. The economic situation remains difficult, with high unemployment – especially among young people where it peaks at 40% – galloping inflation and the increase in the number of poor people.
3What are the critics of the opponents?
The major opposition parties denounce a text “tailor-made” for Kaïs Saïed, the absence of checks and balances and the risk of an authoritarian drift of a president who is accountable to no one.
On Saturday July 23, several hundred people demonstrated in the Tunisian capital against the project proposed by the Head of State, whose opponents demanded his immediate departure. “Get out”, “the people want the fall of Kaïs Saïed, the people want the fall of the Constitution”notably chanted the demonstrators gathered at the call of the National Salvation Front (FSN), a coalition of opponents.
“Saïed will receive a good slap on Monday because the people will show him their disinterest” for the new Constitution, assured the platform the president of the FSN, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, veteran of the political scene. Evoking a “historic choice”the Head of State called on the Tunisian people to go to the polls to “to establish a new Republic based on true freedom, true justice and national dignity”.
4Why is turnout the big unknown in the ballot?
How many voters will turn out on Monday? Turnout remains the big uncertainty of the day. According to the electoral authority, 9,296,064 Tunisian men and women are registered to participate in this referendum. But the opposition, both the Islamist-inspired movement Ennahdha and the Free Destourian Party of lawyer Abir Moussi (hostile to Ennahdha), called on Tunisians not to take part in the vote, citing a “illegal process” and conducted without consultation.
Despite the call for a boycott, turnout was over 6% at 8:30 a.m., three and a half hours after the opening of the vote. A number “encouraging”, estimated the president of the electoral authority, Farouk Bouasker, recalling the very low participation in the previous polls at the same time. The polling stations are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time), which is longer hours compared to other polls, specifies an article from RFI. The first results are expected no earlier than Tuesday.