In Tunisia, president seeks nationwide public input on rewriting constitution via online survey

As Tunisia's president prepares to rewrite the constitution after dismissing parliament last year and ruling by decree, he has called for citizens' input by setting up a voluntary multiple-choice questionnaire online. With two weeks to go before the survey is due to end, only 276,000 people have taken part in the country of 12 million, according to the survey website, amid accusations by Kais Saied's critics that the consultation is a charade. After his move against the elected parliament last summer, the 64-year-old announced in December he would appoint a committee to rewrite the constitution with input from the people and put it to a referendum in June. [...] While the Minister for Youth blamed the low turnout on technical problems and poor internet penetration, Saied accused counter-revolutionaries are trying to torpedo the process. On Tuesday he suggested offering people free internet access as a way of boosting the participation rate. For many Tunisians, Saied's constitutional tinkering seems divorced from their daily reality of low employment, rising prices and shortages of some goods, as a crisis in public finances looms.
Read the full article here: The New Arab