Only 25% of registered voters took part in Tunisian referendum: Polling institute
92.3% voted in favor of draft constitution proposed by President Kais Saied, according to Sigma Conseil
92.3% WOULD BE THE RESULTREGARDLESS OF NUMBER OF VOTERS
Adel Al-Thabti |26.07.2022
TUNIS, Tunisia
Only 25% of Tunisia’s registered voters took part in the July 25 referendum on President Kais Saied’s proposed new constitution, the director of polling institute Sigma Conseil said late Monday.
Speaking on Tunisian public television, Hassan Zargouni also said that 92.3% of the participants voted in favor of the draft constitution.
Zargouni highlighted that "nearly 75% of Tunisian voters did not participate in the ballot."
Polling stations for the referendum closed Monday evening.
The country's electoral board, however, said the voter turnout was 27.5% of the eligible voters.
Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. local time (0500GMT).
According to the Independent High Authority for Elections, over 9 million people were expected to take part in the referendum.
Meanwhile, Saied accused parties -- without naming them -- of creating a crisis to distract people from real issues in the country.
In a statement while heading for a polling station in the capital Tunis, he vowed to hold the parties accountable and to bring them to justice.
He also asked Tunisians to cast their votes on the constitution and not to leave Tunisia for those who, according to him, work against it, whether inside or outside.
"We will start together a new history based on the responsibility of the official in front of the people who elected him," Saied said.
Later in the day, the Independent High Authority for Elections announced that so far, 1.21 million voters, or 13.6%, had participated in the referendum as of 3.30 p.m. local time (1430GMT).
The authority’s president, Farouk Bouasker, said the voting process is underway "naturally," affirming that "voters are free to vote yes or no."
He stated that after 10 p.m. local time (2100GMT), the polling centers turn into vote counting centers.
Tunisia has been undergoing a severe political crisis since July 25, 2021, when Saied sacked the government and suspended parliament.
Tunisian forces consider these measures a "coup against the constitution," but others see them as a "correction of the course of the 2011 revolution," which overthrew then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Saied, who started a five-year presidential term in 2019, considers his measures necessary to "save the country from imminent danger."
*Vakkas Dogantekin in Ankara contributed to this story
92.3% voted in favor of draft constitution proposed by President Kais Saied, according to Sigma Conseil
Adel Al-Thabti |26.07.2022
TUNIS, Tunisia
Only 25% of Tunisia’s registered voters took part in the July 25 referendum on President Kais Saied’s proposed new constitution, the director of polling institute Sigma Conseil said late Monday.
Speaking on Tunisian public television, Hassan Zargouni also said that 92.3% of the participants voted in favor of the draft constitution.
Zargouni highlighted that "nearly 75% of Tunisian voters did not participate in the ballot."
Polling stations for the referendum closed Monday evening.
The country's electoral board, however, said the voter turnout was 27.5% of the eligible voters.
Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. local time (0500GMT).
According to the Independent High Authority for Elections, over 9 million people were expected to take part in the referendum.
Meanwhile, Saied accused parties -- without naming them -- of creating a crisis to distract people from real issues in the country.
In a statement while heading for a polling station in the capital Tunis, he vowed to hold the parties accountable and to bring them to justice.
He also asked Tunisians to cast their votes on the constitution and not to leave Tunisia for those who, according to him, work against it, whether inside or outside.
"We will start together a new history based on the responsibility of the official in front of the people who elected him," Saied said.
Later in the day, the Independent High Authority for Elections announced that so far, 1.21 million voters, or 13.6%, had participated in the referendum as of 3.30 p.m. local time (1430GMT).
The authority’s president, Farouk Bouasker, said the voting process is underway "naturally," affirming that "voters are free to vote yes or no."
He stated that after 10 p.m. local time (2100GMT), the polling centers turn into vote counting centers.
Tunisia has been undergoing a severe political crisis since July 25, 2021, when Saied sacked the government and suspended parliament.
Tunisian forces consider these measures a "coup against the constitution," but others see them as a "correction of the course of the 2011 revolution," which overthrew then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Saied, who started a five-year presidential term in 2019, considers his measures necessary to "save the country from imminent danger."
*Vakkas Dogantekin in Ankara contributed to this story
Tunisians back new constitution, but with low turnout
A new Tunisian constitution that the opposition warns may dismantle the country's democracy by greatly expanding presidential powers is set to take effect after a referendum on Monday that appeared to pass easily but with low turnout. President Kais Saied ousted the parliament last year and moved to rule by decree, saying the country needed saving from years of paralysis as he rewrote the democratic constitution introduced after Tunisia's 2011 'Arab spring' revolution.
Anew Tunisian constitution that the opposition warns may dismantle the country's democracy by greatly expanding presidential powers is set to take effect after a referendum on Monday that appeared to pass easily but with low turnout.
President Kais Saied ousted the parliament last year and moved to rule by decree, saying the country needed saving from years of paralysis as he rewrote the democratic constitution introduced after Tunisia's 2011 'Arab spring' revolution. Opposition parties boycotted the referendum, accusing Saied of a coup and saying the new constitution he published less than a month ago augurs a slide back towards autocracy.
The new constitution gives the president power over both the government and judiciary while removing checks on his authority and weakening the parliament. Tunisia meanwhile faces a looming economic crisis and is seeking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package - issues that have preoccupied ordinary people far more over the past year than the political crisis.
There was no minimum level of participation for the measure to pass and the electoral commission put preliminary turnout at only 27.5%. Soon after an exit poll was published by Sigma Conseil indicating a 'yes' vote of 92.3%, hundreds of Saied supporters flocked to the central Habib Bourguiba Avenue to celebrate.
"Sovereignty is for the people", "The people want to purify the country" they chanted, dismissing concerns over a return to autocracy. "We're not afraid of anything. Only the corrupt and the officials who looted the state will be afraid," said Noura bin Ayad, a 46-year-old woman carrying a Tunisian flag.
Saied's initial moves against the parliament last year appeared hugely popular with Tunisians, as thousands flooded the streets to support him, venting fury at the political parties they blamed for years of misgovernance and decline. However, as Tunisia's economy worsened over the past year with little intervention by Saied, his support appeared to wane.
"Now that we have given him a new political mandate to confront the political lobbies we ask Saied to take care of our economic situation, prices and food provision," said Naceur, one of his supporters out celebrating on Monday. QUESTIONING INTEGRITY
An opposition coalition including the Islamist Ennahda, the biggest party in the dissolved parliament, said Saied had "miserably failed to secure popular backing for his coup" and urged him to resign. The low turnout rate is not easily comparable to previous elections because Tunisia now automatically registers voters. The previous lowest participation rate was 41% in 2019 for the parliament that Saied has dissolved.
The president's opponents have also questioned the integrity of a vote conducted by an electoral commission whose board Saied replaced this year, and with fewer independent observers than for previous Tunisian elections. Casting his own vote on Monday, Saied hailed the referendum as the foundation of a new republic.
Western democracies that looked to Tunisia as the only success story of the Arab Spring have yet to comment on the proposed new constitution, although they have urged Tunis over the past year to return to the democratic path. "I'm frustrated by all of them. I'd rather enjoy this hot day than go and vote," said Samia, a woman sitting with her husband and teenage son on the beach at La Marsa near Tunis, speaking about Tunisian politicians.
Standing outside a cafe in the capital, Samir Slimane said he was not interested in voting. "I have no hope of change. Kais Saied will not change anything. He only seeks to have all the powers," he said.
Economic decline since 2011 has left many Tunisians angry at the parties that have governed since the revolution and disillusioned with the political system they ran. To address economic privations, the government hopes to secure a $4 billion loan from the IMF, but faces stiff union opposition to the required reforms, including cuts to fuel and food subsidies.
Tunisians back new constitution but turnout just 25pc, says exit poll
TUNIS, July 26 — A new Tunisian constitution greatly expanding presidential powers is set to take effect following a referendum yesterday that an exit poll indicated was easily won by the “yes” side but with very low turnout.
President Kais Saied ousted the parliament last year and moved to rule by decree, saying the country needed saving from years of paralysis. He rewrote the constitution last month.
Opposition parties boycotted the referendum, saying it dismantles the democracy Tunisia introduced after its 2011 revolution and could start a slide back towards autocracy.
Tunisia meanwhile faces a looming economic crisis and is seeking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package — issues that have preoccupied ordinary people far more over the past year than the political crisis.
The exit poll by Sigma Conseil said 92.3 per cent of the quarter of eligible voters who took part in the referendum supported Saied’s new constitution. There was no minimum level of participation. The electoral commission put preliminary turnout figures at 27.5 per cent.
The new constitution gives the president power over both the government and judiciary while removing checks on his authority and weakening the parliament.
His opponents say his moves last year constituted a coup and have rejected his unilateral moves to rewrite the constitution and put it to a referendum as illegal.
However, his initial moves against the parliament appeared hugely popular with Tunisians, as thousands flooded the streets to support him, but with little progress in addressing dire economic problems, that support may have waned.
Official turnout figures for the referendum will be closely watched and the electoral commission is expected to release its own preliminary number later on Monday.
The lowest turnout of any national election since the 2011 revolution, which triggered the Arab Spring, was 41 per cent in 2019 for the parliament that Saied has dissolved.
The president’s opponents have also questioned the integrity of a vote conducted by an electoral commission whose board Saied replaced this year, and with fewer independent observers than for previous Tunisian elections.
Disillusioned
Casting his own vote yesterday, Saied hailed the referendum as the foundation of a new republic.
Western democracies that looked to Tunisia as the only success story of the Arab Spring have yet to comment on the proposed new constitution, although they have urged Tunis over the past year to return to the democratic path.
“I’m frustrated by all of them. I’d rather enjoy this hot day than go and vote,” said Samia, a woman sitting with her husband and teenage son on the beach at La Marsa near Tunis.
Others voiced support for Saied.
Casting his vote on Rue Marseilles in downtown Tunis, Illyes Moujahed said former law professor Saied was the only hope.
“I’m here to save Tunisia from collapse. To save it from years of corruption and failure,” said Moujahed, first in line.
But the atmosphere was muted in the run-up to the referendum, with only small crowds attending rallies for and against the constitution.
Standing outside a cafe in the capital, Samir Slimane said he was not interested in voting. “I have no hope of change. Kais Saied will not change anything. He only seeks to have all the powers,” he said.
Economic decline since 2011 has left many Tunisians angry at the parties that have governed since the revolution and disillusioned with the political system they ran.
To address economic privations, the government hopes to secure a US$4 billion loan from the IMF, but faces stiff union opposition to the required reforms, including cuts to fuel and food subsidies. — Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment