The Tunisian presidency announced, on Tuesday, that the electronic voter registration site has been subjected to 1,700 attacks or hacks, while the debate continues over the Tunisian draft constitution, which will be submitted to a vote between supporters and opponents.
A statement by the Tunisian presidency after President Kais Saied met with Interior Minister Tawfiq Sharaf El-Din, which dealt with the general situation in the country, stated that the authorities have investigated 7 people so far.
The Tunisian presidency said that Saeed's meeting with Sharaf El-Din dealt with "what was revealed in recent days of hacking of the website related to the registration of male and female voters and the change of polling stations, in a desperate attempt to introduce chaos and confusion on the day of the referendum," according to the statement.
The Tunisian presidency added that, "a forensic investigation was opened with the permission of the Public Prosecution, and so far 1,700 cyber attacks or hacking have been detected, and so far, 7 people have been heard by the competent security authorities, waiting to hear everyone who will be revealed by the research."
In a context related to the referendum on the constitution scheduled for July 25, Saied reiterated the need to respect the law and the need for the impartiality of all public facilities, and praised the efforts made by the Ministry of Interior in preparation for the "historic" date.
President Said called on Tunisians to vote "yes" on the draft constitution to be presented.
The new draft constitution includes 142 articles granting broad powers to the president of the republic, in contrast to the 2014 constitution, which provided for a quasi-parliamentary system.
The propaganda campaign for the referendum on the constitution began at home on July 3, and continued until July 23, while it began abroad on July 1, ending on the 22nd of the same month.
The referendum comes within the course of exceptional measures that Saeed began imposing on July 25, 2021, which included dismissing the government and appointing others, dissolving Parliament and the Judicial Council, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, and submitting parliamentary elections to December 17.
Controversy and reservations
In the same context, a spokesman for the Tunisian General Labor Union, Sami Tahiri, said that the amendments made by President Kais Saied to the draft constitution did not take into account the organization's reservations.
In a radio statement, Al-Tahri reiterated the organization's position on the new constitution, stressing that the draft does not guarantee a balance between powers and perpetuates individual rule.
Al-Tahri also expressed the organization's adherence to its position on the referendum and leaving the freedom to participate and vote "yes" or "no" to its rules.
For its part, the Afaq Tounes party considered that the course of the constitutional referendum campaign witnessed several violations of the electoral law.
Party leader Fadel Abdel Kafi said in a press conference that his party is under threat because of its continued rejection of the draft constitution presented by the Tunisian president.
The Secretary-General of the opposition Workers' Party, Hamma Hammami in Tunisia, also said that external forces that support President Kais Saied do not want the democratic experiment in Tunisia to succeed.
Hammami added in an interview with a local radio station that Saeed depends on the security and military institutions and the administrative bureaucracy for the local success of his project.