Tunisia opposition renews calls for referendum boycott

A Tunisian opposition alliance renewed calls for a boycott of a July 25 referendum on a new constitution promoted by President Kais Saied, despite the publication of an amended draft.

The draft constitution is the centrepiece of Saied's programme to overhaul Tunisia's political system, but rivals say the text confirms fears he is seeking to reinstall an autocracy in the birthplace of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

"We call on Tunisians to boycott this illegal, unconstitutional process that aims to legitimise a coup d'etat," veteran opposition figure Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, leader of the National Salvation Front, said on the sidelines of a news conference in Tunis.

Chebbi told reporters that rights and freedoms in the North African country would be threatened if the charter was approved.

"For me it's the quintessential bad constitution," he said.

The National Salvation Front (FSN) includes five political parties, among them Saied's nemesis the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, along with five civil society groups involving independent political figures.

It was formed in April, months after Saied, a former law professor elected in 2019 amid public anger against the political class, on July 25, 2021 sacked the government and suspended parliament, later seizing far-reaching legislative and judicial powers.

Saied's initial power grab was welcomed by many Tunisians sick of the often-stalemated post-revolution political system.