Protesters in their thousands have taken to the streets of Tunisia on Saturday to protest the referendum on a new constitution introduced by the president, Kais Saied.
This protest was led by the Free Constitutional Party leader, Abir Moussi, against the president who had snatched power in 2021, dissolved the parliament, and has been ruling by decree.
“Tunisians are starving, public finances are collapsing, but Saied does not care. He only focuses on a personal project to impose his constitution.. we will not accept that,” Abir Moussi told the crowd.
The president is planning to restructure the constitution to increase his political power and would be putting the new constitution to a referendum on the 25th of July, 2022. Saied recent decrees include the dismissal of dozens of judges and military trials for some politicians. He had also appointed a new electoral commission over his doubt about the credibility of any vote.
The Labour Union had called for the public sector strike on Thursday and has also refused to have talks with the government on the new constitution. Political Parties in Tunisia have also decided to boycott the referendum.
The Ennahda Islamist party, another opposition party has also called for a protest on Sunday against his planned referendum and his latest decrees.
However, the supporters of the president claim that he is fighting against people whose corruption has paralyzed the political scene of the country and also led to economic stagnation.