Critics of Kais Saied fear he will rip up democracy that emerged from 2011 revolution
Tunisians have begun voting in a referendum on a new constitution that critics of the president fear will dismantle theousting of an elected parliamentTunisia’s divided opposition parties have called his moves a coup that risks a return to the kind of autocratic rule that characterised Tunisia before theFew people were out in the humid early morning streets, but at Rue Marseilles polling station in downtown Tunis, Illyes Moujahed was first in line, saying Saied was the country’s only hope.
Under Saied’s own rules for the referendum, no minimum level of participation among the 9.2 million registered voters is needed to approve the new constitution. He has only stipulated the constitution will come into effect once the final results are published, and has not said what happens if voters reject it.
Disunity was visible in protests against Saied in recent days. The Islamist party Ennahda, the biggest in parliament, took part in a protest on Saturday. Civil society organisations and smaller parties held one on Friday. A party that backed the pre-revolution autocracy held its own on both days.
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