Tunisia president receives draft constitution

TUNIS: A legal expert charged with writing a new constitution presented a draft to Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday, less than a month before a referendum on the document. The planned referendum is set for July 25, the one year anniversary of a power grab by Saied that saw him sack the government and suspend an elected parliament.

Sadeq Belaid, the legal expert appointed to head a committee drafting the new document, handed the draft to the president at his palace in the coastal Tunis district of Carthage. "We hope (it) will satisfy the president," Belaid said in a video published by the presidency following their meeting. In a statement, Saied said the draft "is not final, and some sections may be revised or given further thought".