Tunisian President Receives First Constitution Draft

Tunisian President, Kais Saied has received the draft of a new constitution from the head of the constitution committee.

The president intends to put the new constitution to a referendum on July 25, though the opposition has said it would boycott the plebiscite.

The coordinator of the National Consultative Commission for a New Republic Mr. Sadok Belaïd said “The conditions for drafting the Constitution, were difficult because of the short time we had at our disposal. But we managed, thanks to everyone’s efforts, to submit this first version of the Constitution. We hope that this would satisfy Mr. President.”

Referendum
Thousands of Tunisians protested against the referendum in the capital over the weekend.

The planned referendum marks one year since the power grab by Kais Saied that saw him sack the government and suspend an elected parliament.

The revised constitution is at the centre of Saied’s programme for rebuilding Tunisia’s political system, more than a decade after the revolution that sparked the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings.

Reports says the draft includes some chapters of the 2014 constitution, especially on freedoms, while the main focus would be on economic aspects.

It says that the draft proposes a system with a powerful president who appoints the prime minister.

Under the 2014 constitution, which enjoyed broad support, parliament had a big role and could withdraw confidence from the government.

The winning party in parliamentary elections named a prime minister who formed the government.

Islamist party Ennahdha and other opposition forces were excluded from Saied’s “national dialogue” and have fiercely criticised his roadmap, accusing the President of wanting to impose a constitution tailor-made for his own ambitions.

REUTERS/CO