Tunisia: party renews call to vote ‘No’ in referendum on draft constitution

The liberal Afek Tounes party reaffirmed on Tuesday that it will vote “No” in the referendum on the draft constitution proposed by the country’s President, Kais Saied, Anadolu has reported. The head of the party, Fadhel Abdelkefi, made this clear during a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Tunis.

“We will continue with a ‘No’ campaign, and we will say no to populism, no to tampering with the country, and no to loyalties,” added Abdelkefi. “The constitution proposed by President Kais Saied will lead the country backwards.”

The Tunisian presidency did not issue an immediate comment on Abdelkefi’s statements. However, Saied called on Tunisians last Tuesday to vote “Yes” in the referendum on 25 July. “There is no fear for rights and freedoms since the legal texts are formed by the majority under popular control, whether within the parliament or the council of provinces and regions,” said the president.

The draft constitution has 142 articles that grant extensive powers to the president of the republic, in stark contrast to the 2014 constitution, which stipulated a semi-parliamentary system.

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The referendum is a part of a set of exceptional measures that Saied imposed on Tunisia a year ago. They included the dismissal of the government and prime minister; the dissolution of parliament and the Supreme Judicial Council; the issue of legislation by presidential decree; and the setting of a new date for the parliamentary election, now due to be held on 17 December.

Tunisia’s president Kais Saied is bleeding the country – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]