Tunis - President of Tunisia Kais Saied Tuesday backed his draft Constitution amid accusations of authoritarian deviation, after being disallowed by the jurist who had been entrusted with the drafting of the document.
Sadok Belaid, head of the commission in charge of drafting the new Constitution, presented the draft he prepared on 20 June, but the President of Tunisia published a completely revised version on Thursday, establishing a system that grants very broad powers to the head of state.
Belaid, a respected Tunisian jurist, said in an open letter published by the press last Sunday that Saied's version was far from the one that had been prepared, warning that the project that will be submitted to a referendum on 25 July could "pave the way for to a dictatorial regime".
In a message released Tuesday by the Presidency of the Republic, Saied defends himself by saying that the published draft Constitution reflects "what the Tunisian people expressed since the revolution (of 2011) until 25 July 2021, when it was put on the right path".
At that time and after months of political stalemate, Saied suspended parliament and sacked the government to assume full power, shaking the fragile democracy of the country where the Arab Spring uprisings began in 2011.
The head of state thus rejects accusations that the proposed constitution paves the way for the "return of tyranny".
Kais Saied also appealed to citizens to approve the text in July 25 referendum.
The head of state thus rejects accusations that the proposed constitution paves the way for the "return of tyranny".
