The polls opened early on Monday and are due to remain open until late. It is not clear when the results will be announced, but many expect the historic vote to pass, as there is no minimum voter threshold.
Analysts say that, if it passes, Monday’s referendum will be the final blow to the social and political gains made by the North African country since the Arab Spring, setting the country on a path from which it will be difficult to return.
When waves of protests rocked the region 12 years ago, engulfing Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Syria and Yemen, Tunisia temporarily emerged as the only success story to emerge from the Arab Spring.
Egypt and Algeria soon came under strict military rule; critics say freedoms and rights have since rolled back in both countries. Meanwhile, Syria, Libya and Yemen are mired in bloody civil wars. To this day they remain bitterly divided and torn apart by grueling poverty.
However, progress in the former French colony has also stalled.
Last summer, amid anti-government protests following a surge in Covid-19 cases and growing anger over chronic political dysfunction and economic malaise, Saied dissolved the 2014 constitution and began ruling by decree.
Saied has defended his decrees, saying they are driven by the need to “correct the course of the revolution” and rid the country of corruption. Among Saied’s targets was the moderate Islamist party Ennahda, whose leader Rached Ghannouchi remains under investigation for money laundering (Ghannouchi denies the charges, which he has denounced as politically motivated).
Ennahda, a major political player in the country since the Arab Spring, has recently come under fire for its central role in Tunisia’s years of economic and political crisis.
Some initially celebrated the decision, with large crowds gathering in support in Tunis and other cities, but the opposition has called Saied’s decision a coup.
Analysts say the new constitution would eliminate the last remaining structure from the country’s democratic days.
Tunisia’s 2014 constitution was “the crowning achievement of Tunisia’s democratic era,” said Monica Marks, professor of Middle East politics at New York University Abu Dhabi, adding that it represented the hard work done in the “post-2011 political transition away from dictatorship”. ”
In May, Saied appointed a “National Consultative Commission for a New Republic” and tasked it with drafting a new constitution, which will be voted on in today’s referendum.
Published in the State Gazette on June 30, the draft constitution alarmed activists and rights watchdogs, who say it limits parliament’s influence and essentially approves one-man rule.
“There is no meaningful separation of powers,” Marks told CNN.
“There is no oversight between the branches of government and there is no presidential accountability,” he added.
Among the constitutional features that worry critics are articles that establish that the government answers to the president, that the president appoints the head of government and that the president can – at any time – dismiss the government or its members. The draft constitution also makes it difficult for parliament to pass a vote of no confidence in the government.
While the protection of rights and freedoms is promised, as in the current constitution, a number of other issues are raising alarm bells.
The lack of balance of powers and the “absence of balance” in the new draft constitution are a major concern, according to Aymen Bessalah, program coordinator for Human Rights at Al Bawsala, a non-profit organization founded in 2011 by Tunisian activists. .
“These are similarities to the 1959 constitution,” Bessalah told CNN, referring to an earlier version that gave the president broad powers.
“It has large and powerful executive powers, and judicial independence is not guaranteed,” Bessalah added.
Other articles give the president executive authority to appoint senior officials, both civilian and military, to take “exceptional measures” in the event of threats to national security, and to rule by decree until a newly elected parliament takes office.
While an amended draft of the new constitution was released on July 8, it included only minor changes and retained the powers proposed by the president, analysts say.
Several political parties have already rejected the July 25 referendum, and the powerful Tunisian Workers’ Union (UGGT), an influential group with more than a million members, called Saied’s constitution a threat to the democracy, but said it would allow its members to vote.
“The proposed draft dismantles many of the guarantees provided for in Tunisia’s post-revolutionary constitution and provides no institutional guarantees for human rights,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North of Africa, adding that it sends “a chilling message” and sets back Tunisia’s efforts by years.
Tunisian authorities did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on either the draft constitution or the government’s plans to safeguard freedoms and rights if the referendum passes.
A series of protests and strikes took place in the capital Tunis ahead of Monday’s referendum.
“This hyper-presidential system is a step backwards and it will be difficult to recover from, at least in the short term,” Bessalah said, adding that once the new constitution is approved, as many expect, there will be a crackdown. on liberties is likely to follow.
“[The referendum] it’s an extremely important event in a long and ongoing process of dictatorial consolidation by Kais Saied,” Marks said. “That’s the real reason why it’s terrifying.”
The summary
Russia’s Lavrov visits Egypt, assures Cairo of continued grain supply to Russia
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Egypt on Sunday, where he reassured the North African country about continued grain supplies to Russia.
- Background: “We reaffirmed the commitment of Russian grain exporters to fulfill all their commitments,” Lavrov said at a news conference with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri, Reuters reported. Last week, Ukraine and Russia agreed to a deal that would allow the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, which Russia has been blocking since the start of the war. But uncertainty remains: less than 24 hours after the deal was signed, two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles launched into the sea collided with the port of Odesa.
- Why it matters: Egypt, one of the world’s top wheat importers, bought 80% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine last year. Egypt has continued to buy wheat from Russia during the war, but has been affected by rising prices and world disruption. In an effort to make up for some shortfalls, Egypt has tried to buy grain from other sources and has capped bread prices at home.
Israel’s Lapid warns against disbanding Russian branch of Jewish Agency
Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Sunday that Russia’s decision to dissolve the local branch of the Jewish Agency, a non-profit organization that promotes and helps Jews immigrate to Israel, would be a serious development which would affect relations between the two countries.
- Background: Russia’s Justice Ministry requested the dissolution of the Agency’s Russian office based in Jerusalem earlier this month, and a court hearing will be held on Thursday. The Ministry has not given details of why it is requesting the transfer, but it comes just weeks after Lapid replaced Naftali Bennett as Israel’s prime minister. In his previous position as foreign minister, Lapid had been one of the most outspoken Israeli leaders in criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Why it matters: In a possible sign that the Kremlin may be unwilling to listen to Israel’s concerns, as of Sunday evening Russia had still not approved a request by the Israeli government to send a team to Moscow for talks on the topic Also, Israel will be wary of upsetting Russia too much because it needs Moscow’s tacit approval to continue attacking Iranian targets in Syria.
Iran carries out first public execution in two years
Iran publicly executed a 28-year-old man on Saturday, the first in two years, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Group (IHRNGO). Iman Sabzikar was convicted of killing a police officer in February 2022 in the southern city of Shiraz, state news agency IRNA reported.
- Background: Sabzikar’s sentence was upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court on Saturday morning, IRNA said. His was the first public execution in Iran since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Iranian authorities have executed at least 168 people in the first five months of 2022, an increase from the 110 people executed in the same period last year, IHRNGO reported in June.
- Why it matters: The IHRNGO denounced the practice as “medieval” and called for international condemnation. The human rights group called Sabzikar’s public execution a “brutal punishment … intended to frighten and intimidate people into coming forward.”
what to watch
The signing of an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by Turkey and the UN, in Istanbul on Friday was a momentous event aimed at tackling global food shortages. The deal, if upheld, would release millions of tons of Ukraine’s grain stuck on global markets, much of which is desperately needed in the Middle East and Africa.
“Today I feel like I’m living probably the most important day of my tenure,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Friday.
Watch the report here:
Around the region
Lebanon has a new beauty queen for the first time in four years. Yasmina Zaytoun, 20, was crowned Miss Lebanon 2022 on Sunday and will represent her country at the Miss World and Miss Universe competitions later this year. According to the organizers, the journalism student is in his third year at Notre Dame de Louaize University, near the capital Beirut. After the win, he wrote on his Instagram account: “I did it.” It is the first time that Lebanon celebrates the contest since 2018,…