Tunisia's Ennahda says new constitution 'lacks legitimacy'

TUNIS, Tunisia

Tunisia’s Ennahda movement has said the country’s new constitution “lacks legitimacy”.

"The 2022 constitution lacks legitimacy and represents an attempt to legitimize the coup against [Tunisia's] revolution and dismantle its institutions and gains,” the moderate Islamist movement said in a statement.

Ennahda said the document “does not deal with any of the country’s problems.”

“Rather, it perpetuates unilateralism, tyranny, and evasion of oversight and accountability,” the statement added.

The new constitution came into effect on Wednesday after it was ratified by Tunisian President Kais Saied. Earlier it was approved by 96% of voters in a referendum held in July with a turnout of 31%.

Ennahda said the referendum was “widely boycotted by three-quarters of registered voters."

It called on all Tunisian democratic forces opposed to "the coup" to unite their efforts to confront the "danger of dictatorship and to advance dialogue to formulate a common vision to avoid the dangers of economic collapse and social explosion."

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis that aggravated the country's economic conditions since Saied ousted the government, suspended parliament and assumed executive authority in July 2021. He later dissolved the assembly after lawmakers held a session to challenge his measures.

While Saied insists that his measures were meant to "save" the country, critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar