According to Hasan Zargouni, the director of the Sigma Conseil polling institute, “yes” to the new constitution received “92 to 93%” of the vote, based on an exit poll from the polling stations.
About 2.46 million registered voters, or 27.54 percent of the total, voted on Monday for the new constitution proposed by Tunisian President Kais Sagand, according to the first official results released by the national electoral commission.
“The voters were consistent in their appointment with history,” commented Electoral Commission Chairman Farooq Buasker, judging the turnout to be “very respectable” and adding that some overseas polling stations had not yet closed.
According to Hasan Zargouni, the director of the Sigma Conseil polling institute, “yes” to the new constitution received “92 to 93%” of the vote, based on an exit poll from the polling stations.
The controversial new fundamental law that President Sagend wants to impose turns the political system into a highly presidential one, breaking with the parliamentary system that has been in place since 2014. The opposition, which accuses Sagend of carrying out an institutional “coup” a year ago by consolidating in his hands practically all the powers and setting aside the parliament dominated by the Islamist Enakhda faction, he called for abstention.
According to Mr. Zargouni, any turnout above 20% would be a “good result”, as in Tunisia fewer and fewer people vote in recent years, below 40%: from the 52% who voted in the 2011 parliamentary elections, after the fall of dictator Zine El Abidine bin Ali, participation shrank to 32% in 2019, he recalled.
Sigma Conseil estimates that between 1.8 and 1.9 million voters chose to abstain.
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