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Tunisian President Kais Saied has announced July 25 as the day for a referendum for ratifying the new constitution. Saied had unilaterally set December July 25 as the referendum date. This is now made official in a presidential decree, through an official Gazette notification.
An online consultation organised between January and March, approved the establishment of a presidential system that Saied is aspiring for. However, the online dialogue did not find favour with a large segment of the population. As reported by www.trendnafrica.com, Saied appointed recently a lawyer close to him- Sadok Belaïd- to head the commission in charge of drafting the new Constitution. The political parties were excluded from the process of dialogue. The powerful Tunisian trade union centre- UGTT – also refused to participate, mentioning that the dialogue was a fait accompli to endorse conclusions decided unilaterally in advance and to enforce them.
Also Read:
https://trendsnafrica.com/tunisian-strongman-bent-on-holding-referendum-despite-stiff-opposition/
https://trendsnafrica.com/national-dialogue-to-be-kicked-off-in-tunisia/
https://trendsnafrica.com/tunisian-political-crisis-escalates/
Saied was democratically elected in late 2019. However, he centralized all powers on July 25, 2021, sacking the prime minister and suspending the parliament dominated by the Islamist-inspired Ennahda party.
