Wans - (AFP) - The Independent High Authority for Elections in Tunisia announced on Tuesday evening the adoption of the new draft constitution with 94.6 percent of the vote, after the judiciary rejected all appeals against the results of the referendum held on July 25.

"The commission declares acceptance of the new draft constitution of the Republic of Tunisia," said Farouk Bouaskar, head of the commission, in a press conference.

Bouaskar added, "The new constitution enters into force from the date of the commission's announcement of the final results, its seal by the President of the Republic, and its publication" in the Official Gazette.

On Tuesday morning, the Administrative Court rejected the only appeal filed by the Afek Tounes party, after it rejected three appeals in the first instance.

The final results of the referendum were similar to the preliminary results announced on July 27, and the answer was yes to 94.6 percent of the votes (2.8 million votes), and about 30.5 percent of the total number of voters, who numbered nearly nine million, participated in the referendum. .

Bouaskar considered that "the administrative judiciary confirmed the safety of the entire process, its integrity and transparency," and added that the court's decision "is the best evidence of the integrity of all stages of the referendum... and refuted all accusations against the commission (which) has political goals."

The head of the electoral commission stressed that the latter was subjected to an "unprecedented wave of skepticism and false accusations... from some political parties and even civil society organizations."

The new constitution enshrines a system that gives the president broad powers, in contrast to the 2014 constitution, which established an amended parliamentary system that gives the president limited roles.

The new constitution does not provide for a mechanism to dismiss the President of the Republic, who exercises executive power with the assistance of a prime minister and ministers who are appointed by him.

It will also establish a second parliamentary chamber under the name of the "National Council of Regions and Regions", which is concerned especially with economic issues.

Farouk Bouaskar said that the Independent Higher Commission will start preparing for the upcoming elections, most notably the parliamentary elections

scheduled for December 17, "pending the issuance of a new electoral law and a new division of electoral districts."

For its part, the opposition announced its rejection of the referendum and questioned its results. It denounces President Kais Saied's monopoly on the full executive and legislative powers since July 25, 2021.

Activists and human rights organizations warn of the danger of a gradual return to dictatorship after the adoption of the new constitution.

On the other hand, experts believe that the voters who voted "yes" to the new draft constitution were motivated above all by the hope of improving their economic situation.

Tunisia is going through a serious crisis, the most prominent features of which are low economic growth (less than 3 percent), high unemployment rates (nearly 40 percent among young people) and increasing poverty (about four million people).

And Tunisia, heavily indebted, has been negotiating for weeks from the International Monetary Fund to obtain a new loan of four billion dollars, which opens possibilities for obtaining other loans from the international market at low interest rates.