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Tunisia: opposition party takes legal action to disrupt the referendum on constitution

July 14, 2022 at 2:27 pm

Supporters of Free Constitutional Party gather to stage a protest against the constitutional referendum, which will be held on July 25, in Tunis, Tunisia on June 19, 2022. [Yassine Gaidi – Anadolu Agency]

A Tunisian opposition party announced on Wednesday that it is taking legal action to halt the political campaigning — “propaganda” — for the referendum on the new draft constitution to be held on 25 July.

The head of the Defence Committee of the Free Destourian Party, Lawyer Ali Bejoui, warned of the imminent danger of forging the will of the electorate through corruption and suspicious foreign funding.

Bejoui told a press conference that the committee intends to refer to the Public Prosecution all the cases of administrative and financial corruption allegedly committed in preceding months by the Presidency of the Republic, the Presidency of the Government, the Ministry of Finance and the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE).

He pointed out that most of those involved in campaigning for the referendum were small parties, associations and ordinary citizens who do not have the kind of huge financial resources as others have. There should be an inspection of the sources of such funding, he insisted.

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The lawyer confirmed that the committee is also filing a legal complaint against senior security officers who carried out “unjustified violence against peaceful citizens on 7 July.” They had, he said, violated their duty of impartiality, and failed to abide by the principles of republican security.”

The Free Destourian Party is led by Abir Moussi, a former official in the party of late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. She organised a protest in front of the headquarters of the ISIE in Tunis on 7 July. The security forces used tear gas to prevent party supporters from jumping over the fences surrounding the building. No injuries were reported.

President Kais Saied reaffirmed on Tuesday the need to respect the law and the neutrality of all public facilities. He praised the efforts of the Interior Ministry in preparation for the “historic” referendum and called on Tunisians to vote “Yes” to the draft constitution. The draft has 142 articles that grant broad powers to the president of the republic, contrary to the 2014 constitution, which stipulated a semi-parliamentary system.