At a time when the battle for constitutional powers and their limits continues between the three presidencies in Tunisia, Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi’s comment on President Qais Saeed’s rejection of the ministerial reshuffle, opening a new chapter in the conflict, according to observers.

On Saturday evening, social networking pages circulated a video of the head of the Ennahda Movement, in which a group of the movement’s supporters were talking, during which he revealed his dissatisfaction with the President’s refusal to accept the new ministers in the government of Prime Minister Hisham Al-Mishishi to take the constitutional oath.

"We are supposed to be in a parliamentary system, the role of the head of state in it is symbolic and not constructive," Ghannouchi asked. "The issue of governance and the issue of the cabinet belongs to the prime minister and the ruling party."

The Speaker of Parliament concluded that Tunisia is experiencing difficulties in mixing the presidential and parliamentary systems, and that the result is the establishment of a complete parliamentary system in which there is a real separation of powers, and in which the executive power is in the hands of the party that wins the elections.

The position shown by Ghannouchi comes in the wake of the president's delay in accepting the organization of the procession for the swearing in of the new ministers in the Mechanically-appointed government, despite the parliament's correspondence with him on two occasions.

And President Qais Saeed had previously announced his rejection of the ministerial reshuffle under the pretext of the presence of ministers subject to suspicions of corruption, but the prime minister chose to pass strongly towards Parliament to obtain confidence in a comfortable majority.

Many fear that the statements of the President of the Ennahda Movement will further deepen the rift between him and the President of the Republic, in light of an unprecedented political and social crisis that the country is living with.

Al-Nahda said that Ghannouchi's statements came within the framework of a comprehensive dialogue (Anatolia)

Renaissance is attached

The spokesman for the Executive Office of the Ennahda Movement, Fathi Al-Ayadi, revealed to Al-Jazeera Net that Ghannouchi's statements came within the framework of a comprehensive dialogue about the general situation in the country, which he conducted with a group of youth and political figures in Canada through the application of "ZOOM", during which he listened to their inquiries and questions. .

He said that what was stated by the president of the movement about the role of the president of the republic was an interaction with the theses of some interlocutors in relation to the parliamentary systems in the world, in which the powers of the president of the republic are limited in forming the government or approving the cabinet reshuffle.

Al-Ayadi refused to describe these statements as an attempt to overthrow the President of the Republic or the constitution, according to what opposition political leaders said, stressing that Ennahdha is biased towards dialogue at this stage with the aim of overcoming all crises.

He continued, "Our system and our experience always need to be read, amended and corrected. We respect the powers of the President of the Republic contained in the constitution and abide by them, and we call for more cooperation and dialogue between the three presidencies, not the other way around."

He concluded that Ennahda is firmly convinced that the priority of the stage is not the debate on changing the political system, but rather it is directed towards focusing the Constitutional Court and considering the possibility of revising the electoral system.

A coup against legitimacy

Political leaders, who do not hide their fierce opposition to Ennahda, seized the statements of the movement’s leader, Rached Ghannouchi, where Mohsen Marzouq, Secretary-General of the "Tunisia Project" movement, described Ghannouchi's position as "a sincere expression of his deep revolutionary thought."

In his turn, the head of the "Tunisia Forward" movement, Abid Al-Braiki, described - in his blog - what Ghannouchi said about the symbolic role of the President of the Republic, as a "coup" against the legitimacy of an elected president of 3 million Tunisians.

Mohamed Ammar, head of the Democratic Bloc in Parliament, which includes both the Democratic Current Party and the People's Movement, believes that what Ghannouchi said is a "dangerous matter", which would deepen the political crisis and aggravate the differences between the three presidencies.

In his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, he indicated that the President of the Republic is exercising his duties that are set by the constitution for him, and he did not exceed his powers, contrary to what the Speaker of Parliament said.

He accused Ammar Ghannouchi of trying to violate the constitution and inflame the situation, by calling for a complete parliamentary system, and the fact that his party was one of those who approved this constitution and establish a quasi-parliamentary system, according to him.

Qais Saeed has so far refused to accept the oath of the new ministers in the Mechanically appointed government (Reuters)

Heavy legality

Professor of Constitutional Law, Jawhar bin Mubarak commented on Ghannouchi's statements, saying, "The role of the president of the republic in the constitutional system is not a symbolic and honorary role, as the political system is not purely parliamentary."

He indicated - in his post - that electing the President of the Republic by general and direct election by the people gives him "heavy legitimacy."

He pointed out that the ministerial modification is not only subject to written constitutional rules, but also to the current constitutional norm, which becomes a mandatory force that makes it a constant source of constitutional law, according to his analysis.

A group of supporters of the president organized this morning a solidarity stand in front of the family residence of the president of the republic, to express their full support for him, and rejected what Ghannouchi said about the president's role and the limits of his powers.