Tunisia debates Constituent Assembly powers

Some Tunisian political parties want to limit the authority of the Constituent Assembly in an effort to avoid concentrating power in the hands of one body.

By Mona Yahiya for Magharebia in Tunis – 13/09/11

Just weeks before Tunisians head to the polls in historic Constituent Assembly elections, politicians are debating what role the legislative body will play in the future of the country.

Parties, independents and intellectuals are divided into two groups. The first group supports a proposal to restrict the task of the Constituent Assembly to creating a new constitution through a referendum on the same day as the October 23rd poll. The other faction, meanwhile, has called for making the assembly a sovereign entity with full powers.

Mohsen Marzouk, Secretary-General of the Arab Organization for Democracy who came up with the idea of referendum, believes that the role of the Constituent Assembly must be restricted to drafting the constitution, and that the government should proceed with its work until legislative and presidential elections are held within one year. Marzouk expressed fear that members of the Constituent Assembly might not agree on the formation of a new government.

More than 40 parties, including the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), which was founded by Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, support limiting powers of the assembly.

Others have rejected that idea and accused those involved of trying to "perpetuate tyranny".

For its part, the interim government denies that. Interim Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi said that the government has nothing to do with the proposal and that this issue should be agreed upon among all political parties.

Communist Labor Party Secretary-General Hamma Hammami attributed the limited assembly plan to "a fear of the results of the election".

"Those who call for conducting a referendum are afraid of the Ennahda Movement. However, we're against that, as Tunisians must be left to choose whoever they want," he said. Ennahda currently leads opinion polls, with slightly more than 20%, followed by the PDP and the Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties.

Parties opposed to the referendum include the Ennahda Movement and the Congress for the Republic (CPR). They believe that the Constituent Assembly should enjoy all powers, such as legislative and executive powers, including the appointment of a new government and the selection of an interim president pending the end of the Constituent Assembly's tenure. Ennahda has said that the Constituent Assembly's tenure should not exceed one year.

The October 23rd Coalition, which consists of the Popular Unity Party (PUP), Ennahda Movement, Reform and Development Party and CPR issued a statement on September 8th in which they said that there was "a conspiracy against the revolution" aimed at disrupting the transitional process and preventing Tunisians from building their own institutions.

The coalition rejected the call for conducting a referendum, saying that the "election should lead to a fully sovereign Constituent Assembly".

Legal experts have expressed doubt about the feasibility of conducting a referendum on such short notice. That has led some observers to urge politicians to agree on a compromise solution, or a third way that wouldn't give the Constituent Assembly all powers, but would instead allow for a parallel election.

Mohammed Kilanni, President of the Leftist Socialist Party (PSG), called for reaching a political agreement instead of holding the referendum and for setting the tenure and tasks of the Constituent Assembly.

The Constituent Assembly should first choose a government and a president, pass all executive power to it, and then proceed to draft the constitution only, in the view of Rachida Ennaifer, a professor of constitutional law.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/09/13/feature-04.