The flag of Tunisia. File photoTUNISIA, July 26, by Rafael Daminov.Hundreds of supporters of Tunisian President Kais Said took to the center of the capital on Monday evening after the completion of the referendum on amendments to the constitution, RIA Novosti correspondent reports. According to the election commission, 2 million 458 thousand people voted, the turnout exceeded 27%. Hundreds of Said's supporters, wrapped in national flags, took to the main street of Tunisia — Habib Bourguiba Avenue. People are shouting slogans both in support of the incumbent president and against the leader of the opposition, the former head of the dissolved parliament, Rashid al-Ghannouchi. «Go away, Ghannouchi, go!» Said's supporters exclaim in unison. There are reinforced security forces in the central part of the city. According to the exit poll Sigma Conseil, over 90% of those who voted supported the draft of the new constitution, 7.7% voted against. Over 9 million people had the right to vote. There were only two questions on the ballot — about agreeing or disagreeing with the draft new constitution. The head of the Tunisian electoral committee, Farouk Bouaskar, had previously stated that the official results of the vote could be made public on Tuesday. However, on Monday evening, his deputy Maher al-Jadidi said that «the electoral commission has three days to count the votes.» The vote took place amid sharp disagreements between supporters of the president who initiated the referendum and his opponents. Part of the opposition called on its supporters to boycott the referendum. Against the backdrop of mass protests against the parliament and the Islamist An-Nahda party caused by deteriorating living conditions, Tunisian President Kais Said on July 25, 2021 suspended the legislative assembly and dismissed the government. In March 2022, the head of the republic dissolved the parliament, saying that this was done “in order to preserve the state and its institutions.” The opposition accuses Said, who was a law teacher before being elected president, of wanting to become the sole, authoritarian ruler of the country. which the opposition does not agree with, give the head of state unlimited powers compared to the basic law adopted in 2014. If the amendments are approved, Tunisia will cease to be a mixed presidential-parliamentary republic, and the head of state will appoint the government and judges.According to state media, Saeed is supported by the majority of the population in his initiatives to actually change the political system.
Yesterday, 13:21 LiveReferendum in Tunisia: which path the country will choose
