Tunisia's foreign ministry summons US envoy

Tunisia has summoned US charge d'affaires Natasha Franceschi in protest at Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's criticism of Tunis's draft constitutional referendum.

In a statement, Tunisia's ministry of foreign affairs said Blinken's remarks contradict the principles of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi slammed the "unacceptable interference in internal national affairs" and expressed "amazement" at the US officials' criticism, which he said did not "at all reflect the reality of the situation in Tunisia".

A few hours earlier, Jerandi had met with President Kais Saied, who expressed his "rejection of any form of interference in the internal affairs of the country".

This comes after voters in a referendum in the country overwhelmingly backed a new constitution giving Saied nearly total powers.

Blinken had said the new constitution could undermine democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Tunisia.

"An inclusive and transparent reform process is crucial going forward to begin to restore the confidence of the millions of Tunisians who either did not participate in the referendum or opposed the new constitution," he said.

American ambassadorial nominee Joey Hood, meanwhile, told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee in a hearing on Wednesday that Tunisia had recently "experienced an alarming erosion of democratic norms and fundamental freedoms".

The draft constitution will turn the president into an omnipotent figure, without any institutional checks and balances, while also weakening the judiciary and constraining other branches of the state. 

It further allows the president to serve two five-year terms, which could be extended in the event of an undefined “imminent danger.”

In recent weeks, the Tunisian people have held huge demonstrations across the country in a public display of opposition to the proposed constitution.

Earlier this year, Saied had said that he would form a committee to rewrite the constitution, put it to a referendum in July, and hold parliamentary elections in December.

Critics say the president has moved the country, which faces a grinding economic crisis, down a dangerous path back toward autocracy.

MG