Tunisia ‘wallows in uncertainty’ as Saied pushes ahead

Tunisia ‘wallows in uncertainty’ as Saied pushes ahead

AFP/ Tunis

Opposition voices silenced and an economy on the brink: experts say Tunisia is “wallowing in uncertainty” as President Kais Saied readies to ask the public for their thoughts on a new constitution.

The former law professor, who on July 25 sacked the government, suspended parliament and seized wide-ranging powers, has long called for an overhaul of the country’s dysfunctional post-revolution political system.

On December 13, he laid out a roadmap for drafting a new constitution, which is set to grant more powers to the executive branch at the expense of the legislature in the small North African nation.

The public has been asked to send in suggestions via electronic platforms from January 1 to March 20 ahead of a referendum on the resulting constitution on July 25, 2022.

Critics have said the move underlines the “populist” approach of the president, who won elections in 2019 with a landslide 73% of votes.

But Saied’s one-man crusade to rebuild Tunisia’s broken political structures has sparked accusations that he is establishing a new autocracy in the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings.

Rights groups have pointed to military trials of opposition figures on charges such as “insulting the president”.

The accusations come not just from his