TUNIS —
President
Kais Saied declared Tuesday that Tunisia was moving “from despair to
hope” after a referendum almost certain to approve a new constitution that
concentrates nearly all powers in his office.
اضافة اعلان
But his rivals
accused the Saied-controlled electoral board of “fraud” and said his referendum
— which was marked by an official turnout of little more than a quarter of the
9.3 million electorate — had “failed”.
Monday’s vote
came a year to the day after the president sacked the government and suspended
parliament in a dramatic blow to the only democracy to have emerged from the
2011
Arab Spring uprisings.
For some Tunisians,
his moves sparked fears of a return to autocracy, but they were welcomed by
others, fed up with high inflation and unemployment, political corruption, and
a system they felt had brought few improvements.
There had been
little doubt the “Yes” campaign would win, and an exit poll suggested that
votes cast were overwhelmingly in favor.
Most of Saied’s
rivals called for a boycott, and while turnout was low, it was higher than the
single figures many had expected — at least 27.5 percent, according to ISIE,
the electoral board.
“Tunisia has
entered a new phase,” Saied told celebrating supporters after polling closed.
“What the
Tunisian people did ... is a lesson to the world, and a lesson to history on a
scale that the lessons of history are measured on,” he said.
The National
Salvation Front opposition alliance accused the electoral board of falsifying
turnout figures.
NSF head Ahmed
Nejib Chebbi said the figures were “inflated and don’t fit with what observers
saw on the ground”.
The electoral
board “isn’t honest and impartial, and its figures are fraudulent,” he said.
‘Opaque and illegal’
Saied, a 64-year-old law professor, dissolved parliament and seized
control of the judiciary and the electoral commission on July 25 last year.
His opponents
say the moves aimed to install an autocracy over a decade after the fall of
dictator
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, while his supporters say they were necessary
after years of corruption and political turmoil.
“After 10 years
of disappointment and total failure in the management of state and the economy,
the Tunisian people wanted to get rid of the old and take a new step, whatever
the results are,” said Noureddine Al-Rezgui, a bailiff.
A poll of “Yes”
voters by state television suggested “reforming the country and improving the
situation” along with “support for Kais Saied/his project” were their main
motivations.
Thirteen percent
cited being “convinced by the new constitution”.
Rights groups
have warned the draft gives vast, unchecked powers to the presidency, allows him
to appoint a government without parliamentary approval and makes him virtually
impossible to remove from office.
Said Benarbia,
regional director of the International Commission of Jurists, told AFP the new
constitution would “give the president almost all powers and dismantle any
check on his rule”.
“The process was
opaque and illegal, the outcome is illegitimate,” he added.
Saied has
repeatedly threatened his enemies in recent months, issuing video diatribes
against unnamed foes he describes as “germs”, “snakes”, and “traitors”.
On Monday, he
promised to hold to account “all those who have committed crimes against the
country”.
‘Back on the rails’
Analyst
Abdellatif Hannachi said the results meant Saied “can now do
whatever he wants without taking anyone else into account.”
“The question
now is: what is the future of opposition parties and organizations?”
As well as
remaking the political system, Monday’s vote was seen as a gauge of Saied’s
personal popularity, almost three years since the political outsider won a
landslide in Tunisia’s first democratic direct presidential election.
Hassen Zargouni,
head of pollster Sigma Conseil, said that of 7,500 participants questioned,
92–93 percent voted “Yes”.
Tunisia is set
to hold elections to the neutered parliament in December.
Until then,
“Kais Saied will have more powers than a pharaoh, a Middle Ages Caliph or the
(Ottoman-era) Bey of Tunis,” said political scientist Hamadi Redissi.
Participation in
elections has gradually declined since the 2011 revolution, from just over half
in a parliamentary poll months after Ben Ali’s ouster to 32 percent in 2019.
Those who voted
“Yes” on Monday did so primarily to “put the country back on the rails and
improve the situation,” Zargouni said.
Tunis resident
Aziz Benrizq, 22, agreed.
“God willing, things
will get easier and the situation in the country will improve,” he said.
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