Tunisia’s President Celebrates Victory for New Constitution Despite Low Voter Turnout

Only about a quarter of the 9 million registered voters in Tunisia turned out for a referendum on a new constitution that would give the country’s president almost total power. Of those that voted in the election, more than 92% voted in favor of the new constitution, according to exit polling. No minimum level of participation was set for the referendum, meaning that the new constitution is set to be adopted. 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. Tunisian President Kais Saied, who began celebrating an election victory for the new constitution hours after the polls closed on Monday night, called the referendum a “historic moment.” The vote comes exactly a year after 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 would replace the one approved in 2014 after three years of negotiations by Islamist and secular parties and would give him almost total power. 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.