Photo : REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
IN BRIEF
by Apoorva Sudhakar
Tunisia: Citizens vote on referendum on new constitution
On 25 July, Tunisians voted on the referendum on the new constitution proposed by president Kais Saied; the date also marked one year of the suspension of the parliament and dismissal of the government by Saied. The new constitution will replace the previous one drafted in 2014 after the Arab Spring of 2011. After the voting, Saied said: “Our money and our wealth are enormous, and our will is even greater, to rebuild a new Tunisia and a new republic, one that breaks with the past.” The referendum was carried out amid massive countrywide protests led by the opposition parties. On 23 July, the head of an anti-referendum coalition said: “The Tunisian people will deal a major blow to Saied on the day of the illegal referendum and will prove to him that it is not interested in his populist path.” (Sebastian Usher, “Tunisia referendum: Voters decide whether to increase president's powers,” BBC, 25 July 2022; “Hundreds protest Tunisian referendum,” Reuters, 23 July 2022)
Thousands of migrants from Libya and Tunisia arrive in Italy
On 25 July, BBC reported nearly 1,200 migrants, from Africa, Middle East and Asia had arrived in Italy in 24 hours by boats from Libya and Tunisia; 674 had been rescued from a fishing boat off the Calabria coast and five people were found dead. Another 522 were rescued from 15 boats and brought to Lampedusa port on 23 July. Lampedusa is a major arrival port for entering Europe. The rescued migrants included Afghanis, Pakistanis, Somalis, Sudanese and Ethiopians. (Matt Murphy, “Italy migrants: Nearly 1,200 arrive by boat in 24 hours,” BBC, 25 July 2022)