The voting process has begun in Tunisia for the new draft constitution that grants wide powers to President Kais Saied, and his critics see it as undermining the democracy that emerged from the 2011 revolution, while supporters see it as a correction to its course.
The vote is taking place on the one-year anniversary of Saeed's actions, after he dissolved the elected parliament, overthrew the government, imposed a state of emergency, and began ruling by decree.
The voting began at six in the morning local time and ends at ten in the evening (from 5 in the morning until 9 in the evening GMT), which is the longest election day in Tunisia.
It was not clear when the results would be announced after the voting ended, but analysts expect a yes vote with a low turnout due to the apparent lack of enthusiasm for the vote.
Under Said's referendum rules, there is no need for a minimum level of participation to pass the new constitution.
These rules only require it to take effect once final results are published and do not say what will happen if voters reject it.
Said praised his steps as the basis for a new Tunisian republic to put the revolution back on track and end years of political rigidity and economic stagnation, while his opponents accuse him of a coup.
Although almost all major political parties and civil society organizations condemned his unilateral approach to rewriting the constitution and the legitimacy of the referendum, it failed to build a united front.
This was evidenced by the protests against Saied in recent days, with the Islamist Ennahda party, the largest party in parliament, participating in a protest on Saturday.
Civil society institutions and small parties organized a protest on Friday.
On the other hand, a party supporting the absolute rule that existed before the revolution organized protests on both days.
Only a small number of people participated in the protests, but the gatherings organized by Saeed's supporters also witnessed only a modest attendance.
Most Tunisians are still focused on the deteriorating economy and high prices.
Among the 3 parliamentary and presidential elections that have taken place twice since the 2011 revolution against former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the lowest participation rate was 41% in 2019 for the council that Said dissolved.
And any turnout much lower than this rate - today, Monday - could raise more questions about the legitimacy of Said's new constitution and his project to reshape Tunisian politics.
The new constitution and the 2014 constitution
The new constitution approved by the referendum constitutes a break with the constitution of the revolution, which was approved in 2014 and established a revised parliamentary system.
The new constitution clearly recognizes the presidential system, and not only did the president have defense and foreign powers as stipulated in the 2014 constitution, but expanded to include, beyond that, the powers of appointing the government and judges and reducing the previous influence of Parliament.
The President of the Republic has the right to appoint the head of the government and the rest of its members upon a proposal from the Prime Minister, and the constitution authorizes him to dismiss them without Parliament having a role in that.
The President, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, has the power to set the state's general policy and determine its basic choices, and his legal projects have "priority consideration" by parliamentarians.
In addition, the legislative function is divided between the “Council of the People’s Representatives” whose deputies are elected by direct vote for a period of five years, and the “National Council of Regions” which includes elected representatives from each region, provided that a law is subsequently issued defining its tasks.
The establishment of this council falls within the framework of President Qais Saeed's vision of decentralizing the decision and that solutions to marginalized areas that lack development must be proposed by the people.
In addition, the president accepts the resignation of the government after submitting a censure bill approved by a two-thirds majority of the two councils combined, and this is difficult to achieve and allows him to be the first decider of the fate of any government.
The constitution did not include provisions for the dismissal of the president, contrary to what was stated in the 2014 constitution. In return, it gives him the right to dissolve parliament and the National Council of the regions.
The president appoints judges after their nominations were submitted by the Supreme Judicial Council, which judges considered an "interference in the independence of the judiciary."