NEWLY OK’D CONSTITUTION BOLSTERS TUNISIAN LEADER

Tunisians approved a new constitution that cements the one-man rule instituted by President Kais Saied over the past year, according to the results of a referendum released on Tuesday, dealing a body blow to a democracy built with immense effort and high hopes after the overthrow of the country’s dictator more than a decade ago.

Tunisia, where the Arab Spring uprisings began more than a decade ago, was internationally lauded as the only democracy to survive the revolts that swept the region. But that chapter effectively ended with the passage of the new charter, which enshrines the almost absolute power that Saied conferred on himself a year ago when he suspended Parliament and fired his prime minister.

Still the referendum on Monday was undercut by mass boycotts, voter apathy and a setup heavily tilted toward Saied. The constitution was approved by 94.6 percent of voters, according to the electoral authority.

In his remarks, Saied denied any tendency toward authoritarianism. But the new constitution will return Tunisia to a presidential system like the one it had under Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the authoritarian ruler toppled in the so-called Jasmine Revolution of 2011. It also weakens Parliament and most other checks on the president’s power while giving the head of state the ultimate authority to form a government, appoint judges and present laws.

In contrast to the previous constitution, which divides power between Parliament and the president, the new one demotes the legislature and the judiciary to something more akin to civil servants.

The inability of the democratic system to deliver good jobs and put food on the table, clean up widespread corruption or produce muchneeded reforms pushed many Tunisians to look to Saied for a rescue. The former constitutional law professor was elected to the presidency in 2019 largely because he was a political outsider.