Tunisian President sets July 25 as the date for the constitutional referendum

Tunisian President Kais Saied has set next July 25 as the date for organizing a referendum on a new constitution for a "new republic", despite strong criticism of the path he adopted.

Saeed revealed at the end of last year a roadmap he had drawn up to get the country out of its political crisis, in which he approved holding a referendum on constitutional amendments that are under preparation on July 25, before legislative elections are held on December 17.

Voters were called by a presidential decree on July 25 to participate in a referendum on a new draft constitution for the "new republic" to succeed the 2014 constitution, which suspended parts of it.

Voters must answer "yes" or "no" to the following question: "Do you agree with the new draft constitution for the Tunisian Republic?", according to the text issued in the Official Gazette on Wednesday night.

Last week, the president announced a "national dialogue", excluding political parties, and being supervised by a "national advisory body" with sub-committees that would prepare the draft constitution. The new draft constitution, which is the subject of the referendum, would be published by presidential order no later than June 30.

Saïd, a professor of constitutional law, Sadiq Belaid, who is close to him, was appointed head of the committee.

One of the most important points that the Tunisian president wants to amend in the new constitution is the political system that he wants “presidentially” to replace the “amended parliamentarian.”

The dialogue is based on the results of an electronic national consultation that was launched at the beginning of this year and ended last March, which the President considered successful with the participation of about 600,000 people out of a total of nearly seven million voters.

Saied called on national organizations to participate in the national dialogue, most notably the Tunisian General Labor Union.

After months of political paralysis, Saeed, who was elected at the end of 2019, announced the assumption of all executive and legislative powers on July 25, and dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament before dissolving it last March.

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