Following a referendum with a low turnout of 30.5% on Monday, Tunisia has approved a new constitution which grants President Kais Saied nearly unhindered power. Many critics fear that the new constitution will birth an autocratic era in the North African country.
Political scientist Hamadi Redissi said, “Kais Saied will have more powers than a pharaoh, a Middle Ages Caliph or the Bey of Tunis."
Of the 30.5% in attendance, astounding support for the new constitution was shown with 94.6% of them voting “yes”. The rules President Saeid set did not require a minimum turnout for the votes to be approved.
“Tunisia has entered a new phase. What the Tunisian people did … is a lesson to the world, and a lesson to history on a scale that the lessons of history are measured on,” said Saeid to his supporters after polling closed.
He also said people were free to boycott the vote, “but it would have been better if they had taken part".
Opposition groups – chief among them being the National Salvation Front – accused President Saeid of staging a coup against Tunisia’s barely 11-year-old democracy and inflating the numbers in his favour. They boycotted the referendum, insisting on the 2014 constitution being the only legitimate one.
Just a year prior to the day of Monday’s referendum, Saeid suspended the parliament and sacked the government. This move was met with a lot of praise, as thousands took to the streets to support him. However, his failure to significantly address serious economic issues may have declined public support for him.
The changes in the new constitution shift power away from the parliament to the presidency.
Contrary to popular opinion, Saeid insists that the freedoms won in the 2011 Arab Spring Uprising are protected in the new constitution.
He has said his moves were necessary to avert the years of government paralysis and economic stagnation under the former constitution which split power between the parliament and president.
Saeid’s supporters associate the parliament with political bickering, and reckon that this new constitution will relieve the country’s politics from the chaos of the previous year.
Just like Saeid, they believe the new constitution is the solution to the high inflation and unemployment the country has faced in recent years.
"After 10 years of disappointment and total failure in the management of state and the economy, the Tunisian people wanted to get rid of the old and take a new step -- whatever the results are," said Noureddine al-Rezgui, a bailiff.
On Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price noted “concerns that the new constitution includes weakened checks and balances that could compromise the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms".
What Does the New Constitution Entail?
Some of the eyebrow-raising terms of the new constitution are:
• Article 68: the president has the right to present draft laws to parliament which take priority over other legislative proposals.
• Article 69: the draft laws and proposals for amendments to existing laws submitted by lawmakers are not acceptable if they would “upset the financial balances of the state”. There is no clear definition for what that means.
• Article 90: a president can serve two five-year terms, and the term can be extended by a law if a presidential election cannot be held on time due to “war or imminent danger”.
• Article 101: based on a proposal from the prime minister, a president appoints the prime minister and other cabinet member, rather than the parliament.
• Article 106: the president has power to make senior appointments in the military and civil services, based on a proposal of the prime minister.
• Article 109: the president enjoys immunity throughout his tenure and cannot be questioned about actions undertaken while performing his duties.
• Article 112: The president can terminate the government and its members.
• Article 116: If a second no-confidence vote is brought in the same parliamentary term, the president can either accept the government’s resignation or dissolve the parliament which will prompt a new election.
• Article 120: judges are appointed by order from the president, pursuant to a nomination by the relevant Supreme Judicial Council. They are barred from going on strike.
• There will be a second chamber of parliament called the “Council of Regions”.
Sources: France 24, Reuters.