It is no secret that Kais Saied, who helped to write Tunisia’s constitution but later criticised it, wants to upend the political system
SOME CHEERED it as a necessary intervention into a broken political system. Others called it a “coup”, the possible end of Tunisian democracy. No one is playing down the significance of President Kais Saied's decision to enact Article 80 of the constitution, under which he suspended parliament for 30 days and dismissed the prime minister, Hichem Mechichi. Mr Saied also lifted members’ legal immunity, saying he would preside over the office handling the prosecution of parliamentarians.
Tunisia is the one true democracy to emerge from the Arab spring protests of 2010-11 that toppled dictators in a handful of countries. But it has struggled in the decade since. Ten governments in ten years have failed to stem corruption or revitalise the economy. Covid-19 has added to the strain. The government declared victory over the virus in June last year. Now Tunisia is suffering a new spike in cases. The health service has collapsed. Oxygen supplies are at a premium.
Mr Saied’s latest move has met condemnation from some of Tunisia’s political parties, while others were still formulating a response. Ennahda, a party with its roots in the Muslim Brotherhood which now styles itself “Muslim democratic”, called the move “a coup against the Tunisian democracy and its constitution”. Rachid Ghannouchi, the party’s leader and speaker of parliament, was barred by the army from entering the chamber on July 26th.
It is no secret that Mr Saied, who helped to write Tunisia’s constitution , wants to upend the political system. He would like the president to have more power and to do away with political parties and some elections. Instead, he suggests that Tunisians should elect local delegates, based on their merit, not their ideology. These delegates would appoint regional representatives, who would then appoint members of a national assembly.
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