Shaaban Bilal (Tunisia, Cairo)
Yesterday, Tunisians celebrated the success of the referendum on the new constitution, which is a step towards the “new republic”, while Tunisian President Kais Saied announced the country’s entry into a “new phase” after approving the constitution, stressing that the people will recover their wealth and that those who are guilty of it must pay. The price is according to the law.
In a speech he delivered to his supporters on Habib Bourguiba Street in the center of Tunis, Said said that “what the people have done is a lesson, the Tunisians have excelled in directing it to the world.” The will of the people and the legislation that will be put in place to serve it.”
Said added, “Together, we will continue to build Tunisia until it returns to what it was and is better than that,” stressing that “the people have the right to demand accountability for those who abused it.”
He continued, “We will work in the coming days to achieve all the demands, and this requires some time, and we must shorten the distance in history until the people regain their full sovereignty, and then the political and social misery will end.” He added, “We were living in a formal democracy for consumption abroad, and we passed from the shore of despair and frustration to the shore of hope.”
Saeed stressed that the first decision after the referendum would be to establish an “electoral law”, explaining: “The new constitution will be a constitution that exalts the republic, and that it will work to achieve all the demands of the Tunisian people.”
Political experts and analysts considered that the wide participation in the referendum is a victory for President Qais Saeed, especially over the Brotherhood, and the renewal of the people’s confidence.
Tunisian political analyst Nizar Jeledi confirmed that the vote by a majority of more than 90% on the new constitution did not come as a surprise to most Tunisians.
Al-Jalidi explained to Al-Ittihad that probing the opinions showed that most of those who voted “yes” voted in this way with a desire to end the rule of the “Brotherhood”, in addition to the fact that the desire was clear among about three million Tunisians and like them from the silent majority who want to turn the page of the past. And the establishment of a “new republic” that derives its strength from the new constitution and its distance from corruption and political lobbies. The Tunisian political analyst added, “What happened is not only a referendum on the new constitution, but rather a renewal of confidence in President Kais Saied, the owner of the new national project, and he celebrated with them immediately after the end of the voting in the capital’s main street, promising to cleanse the country of the corrupt and those who have committed crimes against the country. In the enactment of a new electoral system, the parties will not be the centerpiece, but will vote directly from the people.”
The head of the Independent High Authority for Elections in Tunisia, Farouk Bouaskar, announced that the turnout in the referendum on the constitution amounted to 27.54%.
Bouaskar said: “The participation of 2,458,985 voters inside Tunisia is 27.54% of the registered voters.” He also pointed out that the process went smoothly without any incidents being reported.
According to Bouaskar, the number of registered voters inside Tunisia amounted to 8,929,665 voters, distributed among 51% females and 49% males.
Although the majority voted “yes,” Tunisian political analyst Munther Thabet considered that the turnout was below what was hoped for in laying the foundations of the “new republic,” noting that the participation rate is supposed to be at least 50% of the number of voters.
Thabet explained to Al-Ittihad that there is a state of restlessness among the general Tunisian people from the political class, but despite that there is a large margin of confidence in President Kais Saied.
Thabet added that “the new constitution ends the possibility of the Brotherhood remaining as a dominant political party, due to the nature of the presidential system, which prevents the Ennahda movement from being the dominant party, given that obtaining a majority in the presidential elections from a Brotherhood figure is impossible.”
In turn, the political analyst and researcher in Arab affairs, Muhammad Hamida, indicated that the percentage of voting “yes” on the new constitution exceeded everyone’s expectations, but he agreed that the total participation rate was not the percentage that President Qais Saeed wanted, as he was seeking for a large participation rate that would serve as “People’s Mandate”.
Hemida added to Al-Ittihad that more than 90% voted “yes” in the hope of getting rid of the “black decade of the Brotherhood” and a desire for a different reality, especially at the economic and social levels, adding that the Tunisian street is looking forward to fundamental changes.