It is time to review the legitimacy .. Will Qais Saeed pave the way for changing the system of government in Tunisia?

The statements of President Qais Saeed - following his assignment by the Minister of Interior Hisham Al-Mishishi to form the next government - sparked a political and constitutional debate, when he unequivocally called for a review of legitimacy, which opened the door for interpretations regarding the president's quest to change the political system and limit the role of Parliament.

The Tunisian president said in his assignment speech that he "respects the legitimacy, but it is time to review it so that it will, in turn, be a sincere and complete expression of the will of the majority."

Saeed, who came to power from outside the party system, is known for his constant criticism of the current political system and of the entire parliamentary scene, and the man adopts the "direct democracy" project, which proceeds from the will of the people through the focus of local councils, as well as the eligibility of voters to withdraw the agency from whom they elected in any time.

Saeed said in local media statements during his candidacy for the presidential elections in 2019 that he would "present a legislative initiative to amend the constitution and change the political system in order to support local governance and local development."

And the President does not miss the opportunity on every occasion without directing arrows to criticize Parliament and the performance of deputies, perhaps the most recent of which was stated a while ago in the tribal governorate, criticizing the discussions on changing the internal law of Parliament to prevent the transfer of party tourism.

"If the deputy were accountable to his constituents and the voter could withdraw confidence, they would not have originally needed such a grave breach ... a breach that embodies a constitutional and a political illness," Saeed said.

Parties denounce
the political parties have expressed their condemnation of the method adopted by the President in choosing the Prime Minister-designate, by rejecting the mechanism of direct consultations with the parties, and only receiving their nominations in written messages.

The leader and member of the Shura Council, Al-Nahdha Movement, Muhammad bin Salem, describes Qais Saeed's call to review legitimacy by the grave matter, pointing out that "legitimacy changes within known deadlines, and according to controls and not to the mood of the president."

In a statement to Al Jazeera Net, Bin Salem expresses his fear of the president's insistence on going for the second time towards appointing a personality who is far from the parties ’concordances, recalling Saeed’s known position on the parties and his acquittal of them.

And he added, "Despite the president's vow to respect the constitution, he has still been highly critical of the system that produced this constitution, and criticizes the system of parties formed for the current political scene whenever the opportunity presents itself."

Bin Salem wonders about the nature of democracy that President Saeed believes in, "and he who had no militant stances against the dictatorship of the time of Ben Ali," he said, warning that he would pave the way towards changing the system of government and returning to the hegemony of the presidential system.

In a statement, Al-Nahda Movement expressed "its disapproval of calls to exclude it from the political and governmental scene in the service of suspicious foreign agendas."

Political analyst Adnan Monser acknowledges in a lengthy blog post that Tunisia has become realistic "under a presidential system with a constitution for a semi-parliamentary system", warning against the president's monopoly of the entire executive decision and the threat it poses to democracy, in the absence of a constitutional court.

Munsar - who is the director of the office of former President Monsef Al-Marzouki - inserts in his post that the target in all of this is not the renaissance, as many believe, but all parties and parliament.

For his part, the representative of the Democratic Movement, Muhammad Ammar, said that it is too early to talk about the president's attempt to marginalize the role of parties and parliament, stressing that his vision will be clarified according to the consultations that the designated prime minister will conduct and the nature of the government he will form.

On the president's rejection of the party's nominations, among them the names proposed by the democratic trend, the deputy considers that Saeed is not constitutionally obligated to choose any personality proposed by the parties.

Ammar says to Al Jazeera Net that "the miserable image reached by parliament and the vice of the parliamentary work in which some parties and blocs contributed to it gives the president an excuse to call for a review of legitimacy."

He points to the president's inability to pass any initiative or effect any change in the political system without returning to parliament, whether in the form of a legislative initiative or calling for a popular referendum in accordance with the requirements of the constitution.

Chapter 143 of the constitution gives the president of the republic or one-third of the members of the People's Assembly the right to initiate a proposal to amend the constitution, and the president’s initiative has priority to consider.

Chapter 144 stipulates that every initiative to amend the constitution must be submitted by the Speaker of the Parliament to the Constitutional Court - not yet formed - to express an opinion that it is not related to what may not be modified as stipulated in this constitution.

"The constitution shall be amended with the approval of two-thirds of the members of the Parliament, and after the approval of two-thirds of the members of the Assembly, the President of the Republic can submit the amendment to the referendum, and in this case it will be accepted by a majority of the voters."

A step towards a third republic
The Secretary General of the "Tunis Project", Mohsen Marzouq, praised the steps taken by President Qais Saeed, considering that it coincides with his party's demands to go towards the "third republic", establishing a democratic presidential system and declaring a break with the current political system.

In his post, Marzouq called for granting the President of the Republic additional powers that would put him in an equal position with Parliament, stressing that "the fraudulent party system has taken a blow that it deserves," according to his expression.