Tunisia: Kaïs Saïed promises a new head of government, exceptional measures maintained

Published on : 09/20/2021 – 11:41 PM

Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed took a step towards demonstrators who demanded a return to “the legitimacy” of power. During a speech broadcast by national television from Sidi Bouzid, cradle of the Tunisian revolt of 2011, the head of state announced, Monday, September 20, that he would appoint a new head of government “on the basis of provisions of transition responding to the will of the people “, while keeping in place the exceptional measures he had decreed on July 25 to assume full powers.

Kaïs Saïed, whose speech at the headquarters of the governorate of Sidi Bouzid was interrupted several times by a crowd chanting “the people want the dissolution of Parliament”, also announced that he would pass “a new electoral law” without to reveal its contours.

On July 25, Kaïs Saïed sacked the Prime Minister, suspended the activities of Parliament and also took over the judiciary, for a renewable month before extending these measures on August 24, “until further notice”.

A constitutional reform that shares

The Tunisian president also referred to an upcoming reform of the 2014 Constitution which established a hybrid system, neither presidential nor parliamentary, a source of recurring conflicts between the two powers.

Legal theorist, Kaïs Saïed has presented himself since his surprise election by a large majority at the end of 2019 as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution. It relied on its article 80, which envisages exceptional measures in the event of “imminent danger” to national security, to justify the decisions taken on July 25.

But this reform is not unanimous. The Islamist-inspired Ennahda party, Kaïs Saïed’s main rival and which had the largest number of seats in the frozen Parliament, expressed “its categorical rejection” of “any suspension of the application of the Constitution” or “change of the Constitution. Political system”.

Representatives of civil society in Tunisia denounced a “clear and clear” decline in freedoms since Kaïs Saïed assumed full powers.

“The provisions provided for by the Constitution in matters of rights and freedoms remain in force. I have made sure that no infringement will be brought to freedoms,” replied Kaïs Saïed on Monday.

With AFP