Tunisians Voting on New Constitution That Will Give President Near Total Power

Tunisians went to the polls beginning on Monday morning to vote on a new constitution. The vote comes exactly a year after President Kais Saied dismissed his government and seized a number of powers by granting himself executive authority in what critics have called a coup; he later announced that he would rule by decree until the approval of a new constitution. Saied’s constitution, the only item on today’s ballot, would replace the one approved in 2014 after three years of negotiations by Islamist and secular parties, and would give him almost total power. It would put the president in supreme command of the army, give the president full executive control and allow the president to appoint a government without the approval of parliament. The parliament would be required to give priority to draft laws presented by the president to parliament. The referendum on the constitution is expected to pass, but with low voter turnout. It is not clear what will happen if the constitution is not passed. Tunisia became a democracy in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring revolutions. Its democratic president and parliamentary form of government have experienced some difficulties. Saied was elected president in 2019 for a five-year term.