Tunisians back new constitution, but with low turnout

A member of the election committee counts votes at a polling station during a referendum on a new constitution in Tunis, Tunisia July 25, 2022. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

TUNIS (Reuters) -A new Tunisian constitution that the opposition warns may dismantle the country's democracy by greatly expanding presidential powers is set to take effect after a referendum on Monday that appeared to pass easily but with low turnout.

President Kais Saied ousted the parliament last year and moved to rule by decree, saying the country needed saving from years of paralysis as he rewrote the democratic constitution introduced after Tunisia's 2011 'Arab spring' revolution.