The new draft constitution in Tunisia sparked controversy and widespread criticism 4 weeks before the referendum on it, as political forces saw it as returning the country to before the revolution and concentrating powers in the hands of the president.

The Secretary-General of the Workers' Party, Hamma Hammami, said that the draft constitution gave President Kais Saied "imperial powers" after taking over the legislative, judicial and executive powers.

Local media quoted Hammami as saying that the freedoms stipulated in the draft constitution are restricted, especially in light of the lack of separation of powers and the absence of judicial independence.

Hammami added that the goal of the draft constitution is to establish an authoritarian regime, calling for the overthrow of the referendum on the constitution and the overthrow of Saeed and his regime, as he put it.

For his part, Ennahda Party leader Imad Khamiri described the draft constitution as "a farce and another strong blow" to the course of the revolution, and believed that it would restore the country to what it was before the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.

As for the General Labor Union - the largest trade union organization in Tunisia - it announced that it is in the process of evaluating its position on the draft constitution.

Union spokesman Sami Al-Tahri said on Friday that the executive office will meet, on Saturday, with experts in constitutional law, lawyers and judges to assess its response.

In turn, Said Benarbia, director of the Middle East and North Africa region at the International Commission of Jurists, told AFP that this draft constitution "overthrows the principle of separation of powers."

Benarbia believed that the project establishes "a presidential system without checks or balances, with a president with full powers, an impotent parliament, and a clipper judiciary."

#Your Post - Exceptional interactions in #Tunisia after President Kais Saied issued a decision to publish the new draft constitution, which turns the country into a presidential system and grants the president broad powers, including appointing the government, the right to veto laws, and appoint judges pic.twitter.com/YnwSVlyd10

- Al Jazeera (@AJArabic) July 2, 2022

supporters

As for the parties supporting the president, they considered that the new draft constitution is an embodiment of the course of July 25.

The Secretary-General of the "Tunisia Forward" movement, Obeid Breki, said the new constitution would allow people to "breathe and establish the new Tunisia".

The spokesman for the "People's Current" party, Mohsen Nabti, also considered that the new draft constitution opened horizons for the Tunisian people to take control of their affairs.

Nabti indicated, in a radio statement, that the new project responded to the demands of Tunisians and to the current stage that the country is going through.

Considering that he preserved the gains of rights and freedoms, as he put it.

Internationally, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, stressed the importance of a credible and inclusive law-based constitutional reform process in Tunisia.

In response to a question by Al Jazeera in this regard, Dujarric stressed the importance of dialogue between all the active forces in Tunisia to move forward in the democratic transition process.

Since July 25, 2021, Tunisia has been experiencing a severe political crisis when President Said began imposing exceptional measures, which escalated successively to the dissolution of Parliament and the Supreme Judicial Council and the issuance of legislation through presidential decrees.


Notable changes

Yesterday, Thursday, the President published in the Official Gazette a draft constitution for a "new republic", which is scheduled to be put to a public referendum on July 25.

  • government appointment

The draft constitution grants the President of the Republic wide powers, in clear contradiction with the current parliamentary system, as it gives him the right to appoint the head of government and its members and to terminate their duties.

As for the current constitution, which was approved in 2014, the candidate of the party or coalition that wins the largest number of votes is assigned by the President of the Republic to form a government and then submit it to the Assembly of People’s Representatives to gain its confidence.

  • Public policy

In the new draft constitution, the President of the Republic is responsible for setting the general policy of the state and the so-called executive function, with the assistance of the government, which is responsible to him, and he is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

As for the current constitution, it stipulates that the head of government is the one who sets the general policy of the state with some exceptions, and that the government is accountable to the House of Representatives.

  • appointments

Appointing senior civil and military positions is also the president's prerogative, on the proposal of the Prime Minister, according to the new draft constitution.

As for the 2014 constitution, it stipulates that civil appointments and exemptions are the right of the prime minister, and military appointments are made by the president on the condition that the prime minister is consulted.

The judges are named by a presidential order in conformity with the opinion of the Supreme Judicial Council in accordance with the 2014 constitution, while the new draft constitution grants the president the right to nominate judges based on their nomination by the Judicial Council.

  • Removal of the President

The 2014 constitution allows the House of Representatives, by a two-thirds majority, to dismiss the president of the republic if he seriously violates the constitution, after approval by the Constitutional Court.

But there is no article referring to the removal of the president in the new constitution.

  • state religion

In general principles and provisions, the 2014 constitution indicates in its first chapters that Islam is the state religion, and this chapter may not be amended.

But the new draft constitution cancels this article, and replaces it with the fact that Tunisia is part of the Islamic nation and the state alone undertakes the work to achieve the purposes of Islam.

Among the observations on the new draft constitution is also the replacement of the designation of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities with the term “functions”, a description that critics believe changes the image of these authorities and reduces their position within the state institutions.