The Tunisian Ennahda Movement Party said that President Qais Said's announcement of himself as the commander of the security forces also showed his tendency towards individual rule, warning that the involvement of security in political conflicts represents a threat to democracy and civil peace.
Ennahda said - in a statement today, Tuesday - that it was surprised by the president’s return to violating the constitution, to justify his tendency towards individual rule, stressing that the president’s decision is a "trampling on the constitution and the laws of the country."
The statement, which was signed by the head of the party, Rashid Ghannouchi, said that Saeed's declaration constitutes an infringement of the political system and the powers of the prime minister.
In its statement, the Ennahda movement said that it rejects the "authoritarian disposition" of the head of state, and called on him to "seriously adhere to the constitution on which he was elected, and to stop all efforts to disrupt and dismantle the wheels of the state."
On Sunday, President Qais Saeed said that his powers as commander-in-chief of the armed forces also include the internal security forces, in an escalation of his dispute with Prime Minister Hisham Al-Mishishi and Parliament Speaker Rashid Al-Ghannouchi over the powers, which opens a direct and strong confrontation with the President after months of political tension in the country.
"The president of the state is the supreme commander of the military and civil armed forces, so let this matter be clear to all Tunisians," Said said in a speech he gave on the occasion of the National Day of the Internal Security Forces.
Saeed alluded to the amendment of the current system in order to expand the powers of the president (communication sites)
President Said has hinted since his election campaign that he wants to amend the current system of government from a modified parliament in which broad executive powers are granted to the prime minister, to a presidential system under the pretext of limiting the dispersion of authorities, but the Ennahda movement opposes this endeavor, and preferred to go to a purely parliamentary system.
Article 77 of the constitution issued in 2014 stipulates that the President of the Republic shall assume the supreme command of the armed forces, and the constitution has been widely interpreted that the Prime Minister is the one who supervises the internal security forces, and that the Ministry of Interior is within his powers.
So far, Tunisia has failed to establish a constitutional court that would adjudicate constitutional disputes between the main players in the country.