Tunisia Sets Referendum, Extends Parliament Suspension by Year

(Bloomberg) -- Tunisia’s president said parliament will stay suspended until elections in a year’s time and set a referendum on a revised constitution for July, pressing on with his controversial political revamp of the Arab Spring’s birthplace.

In comments carried on state TV Monday, President Kais Saied said the assembly, frozen in late July, would only resume after a Dec. 17, 2022 vote. The North African nation will also compile citizens’ suggestions on changes to the 2014 constitution before holding a plebiscite on proposed amendments on July 25, he said.

Tunisia, which has struggled with sluggish growth and youth unemployment for the past decade, has been mired in a fresh political crisis since the summer, when protests flared against lawmakers and Saied assumed more powers in a step critics dubbed a coup.

Battling long-running economic troubles, authorities have resumed talks with the International Monetary Fund on a rescue package. The central bank governor last week said they hope to reach an agreement with the Washington-based lender in the first quarter of 2022.

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