Tunisian officials say new constitution passed in vote with low turnout

Members of the election committee count 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 giving far more power to President Kais Saied passed in a referendum with a 30.5% turnout, the electoral commission said on Tuesday, tightening his grip in what critics fear is a march to a new era of autocracy.

The commission said 95% of voters approved the constitution in Monday's referendum boycotted by opposition groups, which accuse Saied of staging a coup against the young democracy that emerged from Tunisia's Arab Spring uprising of 2011.