Tunisia – Researchers: new draft constitution ineffective in representing public will

Location: Tunis, Tunisia

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:03:52

Voice: Natural

Source: A24 Tunisia

Restriction: A24 subscribers

Date: 18/07/2022

Storyline:

The Legal Agenda organization, specialized in research and analysis of law, presented a new study it started conducting a while ago entitled ‘The President Wants: Contradictions and Risks of the Basic Structure System’. The study conducted by political scientists and law professors discussed the draft of the new political system that Tunisian President Kais Saied, is trying to highlight through the constitution draft, put to a referendum on July 25th. Researchers and law professors stressed the contradiction between the principle of rooting democracy, and the fact of complete disengagement of authoritative bodies. They added that the new draft constitution is ineffective in representing public will because it concentrates power on only the President and creates a presidential system that weakens and disperses any force that could monitor and balance out this centralization.

Shot list:

Soundbite (Mahdi Al-Ash – Legal Agenda researcher):

We discussed the basic structure project presented continuously by Tunisian President throughout the early years of the revolution and over the years reaching to 2019 elections. This project has not been thoroughly studied and discussed before. Through this study, we tried to delve deeper and reveal the contradictions the project is based on. The first contradiction is between the principle of rooting democracy, and the fact of complete disengagement of authoritative bodies that hinders democracy. The second is a contradiction between the principle of political ethics and clean politics building, and the fact of voting in small constituencies that increase the risk of corruption. Third contradiction is the principle of politicizing democracy by transitioning out of liberal procedural democracy, and the fact that the basic structure project eliminates all political parties and blocs.

Soundbite (Sami Benghazi – Legal researcher, political and civil rights activist):

“We believe the constitution is the main focal point of this basic structure system with regards to voting in small constituencies, disengagement of authoritative bodies, concentrating power in only the President and creating a presidential system that weakens and disperses any force that could monitor and balance out this centralization. We believe that this basic structure poses a great risk to state, society, and democracy in Tunisia.

Soundbite (Muhammad Al-Sahi Al-Khalafawi – Political scientist):

“We tried to explain that practically there is an objective impossibility regarding the implementation of this project. However, we also explained the ineffectiveness of this project in representing public will. When taking into consideration historical experiences and events that took place in Tunisia over the past decade, it becomes evident that this project is an instrument of accumulating all political power and concentrating it in one person, which is the second aspect of the Basic Structure project as opposed to fragmentation of legislative authority and traditional structures within the state.