Tunisia votes on new constitution bolstering president's grip on power

Voting runs from 6:00 am (0500 GMT) to 10:00 pm at some 11,000 polling stations across the North African country, while there is no clarity yet on when the results will be announced.

The referendum comes a year to the day after Kais Saied sacked the government and froze parliament in a dramatic power grab. (Reuters Archive)

Tunisians have begun voting in a referendum on a new constitution that critics of President Kais Saied fear will hurt the democracy that emerged from a 2011 revolution by handing him nearly total power.

Monday's vote is being held on the first anniversary of Saied's ousting of an elected parliament, when he established emergency rule and began governing by fiat.

Few people were out when polls opened at 0500 GMT, but at Rue Marseilles polling station in downtown Tunis, Illyes Moujahed was first in line, saying Saied was the only hope.

"I'm here to save Tunisia from collapse. To save it from years of corruption and failure," he said.

It is not clear when the results will be announced after polls close at 2100 GMT, but with little apparent enthusiasm for the vote among most Tunisians and a boycott by major parties, analysts expect a 'yes' vote with low turnout.

Around 9.3 million out of Tunisia's 12 million people — civilians aged over 18 — have opted in or been automatically registered to vote, according to the ISIE electoral commission. They include about 356,000 registered overseas.

READ MORE: Tunisian union fears proposed constitution could threaten democracy

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCefgK2cHMA[/embed]

Visible disunity

Under Saied's own rules for the referendum, no minimum level of participation is needed to approve the new constitution. They only stipulate it will come into effect once the final results are published and do not say what happens if voters reject it.

Saied has hailed his changes as the foundation of a new Tunisian republic to put the revolution back on course and end years of political resistance to change and economic stagnation. His foes accuse him of a coup.

While nearly all major political parties and civil society organisations have denounced Saied's unilateral approach to rewriting the constitution and the legitimacy of the referendum, they have failed to build a united front.

Disunity was visible in protests against Saied in recent days. The Ennahda, the biggest party in parliament, took part in a protest on Saturday. Civil society organisations and smaller parties held one on Friday. A party that backed the pre-revolution autocracy held its own on both days.

The protests attracted only small numbers, but rallies organised by Saied supporters have also had only modest attendance and there has been little sign of excitement around the campaign.

Most Tunisians remain focused on the dire economy and rising prices.

However, the economic decline since 2011 has left many people angry at the parties that have governed since the revolution and disillusioned with the political system they ran.

"I don't support Saied, but I will vote 'yes' in the referendum because those protesting against it are the main cause of our problems for the past decade," said Mohammed, a Tripoli resident.

Of the three parliamentary elections and two presidential elections since the revolution, the lowest turnout, of 41 percent, was in 2019 for the chamber that Saied has dissolved.

READ MORE: Leader of Tunisian constitution committee criticises president's draft

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/tunisia-votes-on-new-constitution-bolstering-presidents-grip-on-power/?feed_id=1734&_unique_id=62de3f66da39f

Sri Lanka president’s office to reopen after crackdown

Sri Lanka’s besieged presidential office will reopen on Monday (Jul 25), police said, days after anti-government demonstrators were flushed out in a military crackdown that triggered international condemnation.

Widespread public anger over the island’s unprecedented economic crisis saw protesters storm and occupy the colonial-era building earlier this month.

Soldiers were forced to rescue then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from his nearby residence on the same day, with the leader fleeing to Singapore and resigning days later.

Troops armed with batons and automatic weapons cleared the 92-year-old presidential secretariat in a pre-dawn raid on Friday on the orders of Rajapaksa’s successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe.

At least 48 people were wounded and nine arrested in the operation, during which security forces tore down tents set up by protesters outside the complex since April.

“The office is ready for reopening from Monday,” said a police official on Sunday, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

“The siege of the secretariat, which lasted since May 9, has now been lifted.”

Police said forensic experts had been called in to check damage to the presidential secretariat and gather evidence.

Western governments, the United Nations and human rights groups have condemned Wickremesinghe for using violence against unarmed protesters who had announced their intention to vacate the site later on Friday.

Wickremesinghe defended the crackdown and said he had told Colombo-based diplomats on Friday that blocking government buildings was unacceptable.

Police spokesman Nihal Talduwa said protesters were free to continue their demonstrations at a designated site near the presidential office.

“They can remain at the official protest site. The government may even open a few more places for demonstrators in the city,” Talduwa said on Sunday.

The military operation to clear the secretariat building and its immediate surroundings came less than 24 hours after Wickremesinghe was sworn in and just before a new Cabinet was appointed.

Sri Lanka’s 22 million people have also endured months of lengthy blackouts, record inflation and shortages of food, fuel and petrol.

Its government is officially bankrupt, having defaulted on its US$51 billion foreign debt, and is currently in bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.

The economic crisis which fuelled the protest campaign shows no sign of easing, but the government announced on Sunday it would reopen schools which had remained shut for the better part of a month.

The education ministry said students and teachers will be asked to return to school only for three days each week as transport is still hampered by a national fuel shortage.

Miles-long queues of motorists waiting to fill up were seen across the country Sunday despite the government introducing a rationing system.

New president Wickremesinghe has said he will unveil a fresh budget for the rest of the year in August as previous revenue and expenditure estimates were unrealistic.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/sri-lanka-presidents-office-to-reopen-after-crackdown/?feed_id=1646&_unique_id=62de071038da0