By John Ikani
Tunisian President Kais Saied published an amended version of a draft constitution late Friday in an attempt to ward off criticism after the original was slammed for the nearly unlimited power it gave his office.
The amended draft, published around midnight Friday, makes changes to two articles, though it still retains a broad range of powers for the head of state.
Changes have been made to an article that stated Tunisia “is part of the Islamic community” and that “the State must work to achieve the objectives of Islam” — it now adds “within a democratic system”.
The clause had been previously criticised for its ambiguity by those who advocated for a completely secular system, and international rights group Amnesty International had warned it could “provide a mandate to discriminate against other religious groups”.
The other amendment is to an article about rights and freedoms, which now clarifies that “no restriction may be placed on the rights and freedoms guaranteed in this Constitution except by law and necessity imposed by a democratic order”.
The rest of the document remains largely unchanged.
Hours before the new text was released, Saied announced in an official video that “clarifications needed to be added to avoid confusion and interpretation”.
The new constitution, which will be put to a referendum this month, is the centrepiece of Saied’s plan to remake the North African country’s political system.
It was unveiled almost a year after Saied sacked the government, suspended parliament and seized wide-ranging powers in moves opponents have called a coup against the only democratic system to have emerged from the Arab Spring revolts.
Critics say the changes in the latest draft are minor and will not substantially limit the sweeping powers Mr Saïed plans to give himself, after sacking the government and suspending parliament last year.
The legal expert who oversaw the constitution’s drafting says the final document is completely different from what his committee proposed, and could pave the way to dictatorship.
