Tunisian President Kais Saied on Wednesday said draft decrees will soon be prepared for holding election for a new parliament and a second chamber for regions, reported The BBC News.
During a meeting with Prime Minister Najla Bouden Romdhane on Wednesday, the president noted the need to prepare a draft decree related to the election of a new parliament and the Council of Regions and Districts, the Tunisian presidency said in a statement.
The statement also added that the president has called for the preparation of a draft decree related to how the Constitutional Court would be prepared, in accordance with provisions of the new constitution.
The announcement came a day after voting results approved a controversial new constitution despite low voter turnout.
On Tuesday, Tunisia’s election commission said that preliminary results indicated that a referendum on the constitution delivered a yes vote of 94.6% with a turnout of 30.5%.
The vote result has caused an outcry among Mr Saied’s opponents who boycotted the voting and accused the authorities of inflating the vote numbers.
Tunisia’s new constitution, which replaces one drafted in 2014, gives the head of state full executive control, supreme command of the army and the ability to appoint a government without parliamentary approval.
Tunisian President Saied promised a new “phase” for his country as he called the results of Monday’s referendum an historic moment that offered lessons for the world.
The vote on the new constitution came a year after President Saied’s dramatic power grab against parliament. Last July, he ousted the Tunisian parliament and moved to rule by decree, saying that his actions were necessary to save the country from years of paralysis. He rewrote the constitution last month.
Tunisia currently faces a looming economic crisis and is seeking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package to address all the issues.
