Tunisia: 5 parties launch campaign to abolish constitution referendum 

Five Tunisian parties on Thursday announced the launch of a campaign to abolish the referendum on the new constitution.

This came in a joint statement by the Republican Party, the Democratic Current, the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties, the Workers’ Party and the Democratic Modernist Pole party, read by the Secretary-General of the Workers’ Party Hamma Hammami at a press conference in Tunis.

Hammami confirmed that the parties will launch a: “National campaign to abolish the referendum on the constitution starting from their refusal to participate in it, until the call for boycotting it. A set of independent field and media actions will be carried out to protect the country from the dangers of disintegration and counter all forms of violating the national sovereignty and breaching the public and individual freedoms.”

He continued: “We will be open to all democratic and progressive political forces, personalities and activities that agree with the campaign’s goals and its independence to abolish the referendum.”

The parties stressed: “The referendum project is serious, through which the absolute ruler (President Saied) intends to add false legitimacy to ready-made decisions.”

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In his speech during the press conference, Secretary-General of the Republican Party Issam Chebbi affirmed: “Today, we call to boycott and abolish the referendum because we refuse to turn Tunisia into a rogue state and return to the course of the constitution to exploit it in favour of the absolute ruler.”

The Secretary-General of the Democratic Current Party Ghazi Chaouachi expressed at the same press conference: “The referendum violates the constitution, international standards and the sovereignty of the people. Tunisia’s economic, social and political conditions have become dreadful, and we will counter this farce.”

On 25 May, Saied issued a decree calling on voters to vote in a referendum on a new constitution for the country, while opposition parties called for a boycott.

The decree came five days after issuing a decree to form the National Consultative Commission for the New Republic, which was entrusted with drafting a new constitution for the country.

Since 25 July 2021, Tunisia has witnessed a severe political crisis when President Saied imposed exceptional measures, including suspending parliament, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, dismissing the government and appointing a new one.

Is Tunsia’s President Kais Saied ruining democracy?- Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]