Tunisia Protests As Saied Calls For Constitutional Referendum in July


Despite mass protest, the dictatorial Tunisian President Kais Saied has sought for a referendum on a new constitution. The date fixed for this in July 25, which had earlier been set unilaterally set by him for December.

Again, the referendum is being declared so through a presidential decree. While Saied was democratically elected, he seemed to have been dictatorial as he immediately sacked the prime minister and eventually suspended the parliament dominated by the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party.

 A popular online consultation organised between January and March, which was largely rejected, voted in favour of the establishment of a presidential system that Mr. Saied is calling for.

It’s not getting the support it should now. Mr Saied appointed on Friday a lawyer close to him, Sadok Belaïd, to head a commission in charge of drafting the new Constitution through a "national dialogue", from which political parties have been excluded.

Invited to this dialogue, the powerful Tunisian trade union centre UGTT, a key player on the Tunisian political scene, refused to participate.

For the UGTT, the dialogue in the format proposed by Mr Saied aims to "endorse conclusions decided unilaterally in advance and (to) force them through as faits accomplis.  

The democracy of Tunisia has become a mockery and that is a fact that cannot be hidden.

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