On Monday, Tunisian President Kais Saied announced that a referendum on Tunisia’s ruling system will be held next July 25, with early parliamentary polls set for December 17, 2022.
The suspension of the parliament, which began this July, will continue until next December’s elections, Saied stated in a televised speech.
“A draft constitutional and other reforms will be presented on July 25 and other reforms that concern the organization of elections without interference from any party and away from previous laws,” Saied further expressed.
The Tunisian president said that new measures will be taken in the coming hours aimed at “achieving the aspirations of the people” in a video on Facebook, earlier on Monday.
On July 25, Saied ousted the government headed by Hichem Mechichi, suspended the parliament, and assumed executive authority. While he argued these exceptional measures were meant to “save” the country, his critics, notably the Ennahda Party, accused him of orchestrating a coup.
Tunisia has been seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among Arab countries in the Arab Spring revolutions, which witnessed popular revolutions toppling ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.
