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.
There was no minimum level of participation for the measure to pass and the electoral commission put preliminary turnout at only 27.5%. "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.
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.
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