Tunisian president vows new electoral code, transition team

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA
Associated Press

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s president has announced plans to draft a new electoral code and appoint a transitional leadership. He suggested he will hang on to the exceptional powers that he seized in July, which threw the country’s young democracy into question. President Kais Saied promised that the new initiatives would respect Tunisians’ hard-fought rights and freedoms and democratic constitution. Saied’s actions have sidelined Tunisia’s long-governing Islamist party, which accuses him of a coup, and worried Islamist groups around the region. While many Tunisians welcome his moves, human rights groups and some others are concerned.