Tunisia is facing its biggest crisis since it tasted democracy 10 years ago, after President Kais Saied overthrew the government and froze the activities of Parliament in a move that appeared to be backed by the army, and political forces considered it an outright coup against democracy that carried Saeed to the presidency.

The new developments came, after months of crises and disputes between Saeed, Prime Minister Hicham Al-Mashishi and a divided parliament, at a time when Tunisia was plunged into an economic crisis exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Said's decisions deepened the state of division within the Tunisian street, as supporters of the two opposing teams threw stones in front of the parliament building on Monday morning, which led to injuries.

Bonds issued by the central bank in hard currency fell sharply today.

Security forces stormed Al-Jazeera's office and removed all journalists from it.

The situation is still characterized by ambiguity and ambiguity, as all parties have not yet announced their positions, although the most important political forces represented in Parliament openly announced their categorical rejection of Saeed's decisions.

The following is an inventory of the map of internal political positions regarding the president's decisions:

Military and security forces

The army has not yet commented on Said's movements, and it does not yet know its true position on what Said's opponents say is an outright coup against democracy.

However, members of the army, police and security forces deployed in the streets and at official headquarters, and prevented Parliament Speaker Rashid Ghannouchi and his members from entering the Legislative Council headquarters.

An army unit was also deployed at the government headquarters in the Kasbah and prevented employees from entering the building today.

Political forces

The Renaissance Movement

The movement's head and Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi considered, at dawn today, the president's recent decisions a "coup against the revolution and the constitution" and stressed that the people would defend the revolution, and warned that Said's decisions were "a mistake and will plunge Tunisia and its people into the darkness and the authority of one opinion."


This morning, Ghannouchi began a sit-in in front of Parliament after he was prevented, along with other deputies, from entering the parliament headquarters by the army, who confirmed that they were closing it according to presidential instructions.

Ali Larayedh, Vice President of Ennahda Movement, described the president's decisions to dissolve parliament and dismiss the prime minister as a coup against the constitution and the revolution, and called on political forces, civil organizations and citizens to stand up to all authoritarian tendencies and try to circumvent the constitution.

The deputy of the Ennahda movement stated that the groups that attacked the movement's headquarters yesterday, "some of them obtained money and were used by political parties, and some of them are close to Tunisian President Kais Saied."

Block "Heart of Tunisia"

The bloc, which is the second force in Parliament, announced its rejection of the president's decisions, describing them as a "grave breach of the constitution" and expressing its adherence to electoral legitimacy and respect for the law and institutions.

It also called on the government to exercise its legitimate duties and avoid creating an institutional vacuum, and urged the army and security to adhere to their historical role in protecting the state and its institutions and the values ​​of the republic and revolution.

She called on the Assembly of the Representatives of the People (Parliament) to convene immediately, and called on Al-Mashishi to assume its legitimate duties and to avoid creating a vacuum in the institution of the government's presidency.

Dignity Coalition

At dawn today, the coalition expressed its categorical rejection of the recent decisions announced by the president, and called on the people to "defend their freedom and revolution."

"The Al-Karama Coalition categorically rejects these failed coup decisions," said the official spokesman, Seif El-Din Makhlouf.

Makhlouf continued, in a video posted on his party's Facebook page, "We call on the Tunisian people to reject them (the president's decisions) and to defend their freedom and the revolution of their martyrs and wounded."

He believed that Chapter (Article 80) of the constitution does not allow Saeed to take these decisions, and added, "When it comes to the President of the Republic to turn against the democratic path, freedom and revolution, we say to him: Stop."


Democratic Party

The party expressed its disagreement with the president's interpretation of Article 80 of the constitution, stressing its rejection of the decisions and procedures that resulted from it outside the constitution, according to its description.

He stressed, in a statement, that he does not see a solution except within the framework of the constitution, calling on the President of the Republic and all democratic forces and national organizations to unite efforts to get the country out of the crisis, with respect for democracy, human rights and resistance to financial corruption.

At the same time, the statement held the ruling coalition led by the Ennahda movement and the Meshishi government responsible for the popular congestion and the social, economic and health crisis.

labor Party

The party considered that what the head of state did was legally a clear violation of the constitution and the provisions of Article 80 that it adopted.

He described Said's decisions as "exceptional anti-democratic measures that embody Qais Saeed's endeavor for a while to monopolize all executive, legislative and judicial powers in his hands, and inaugurate a path of revolution towards re-establishing the absolute autocratic regime."

the Republican Party

For his part, the Republican (not represented in Parliament) considered that these decisions constitute a departure from the text of the constitution, a clear coup against it and a declaration of a return to absolute autocracy, and a perjury of the oath made by the President of the Republic by ensuring respect for the constitution.

The party confirmed - according to a statement published by local media - its rejection of Saeed's recent decisions.

"Long Live Tunisia" movement

The movement announced that it stands by the legitimate demands of the Tunisians, and that “today, the cry of the citizens who came out on 25 July cannot be ignored, protesting the deteriorating living conditions and demanding their right to a political life that is interrupted by the political and moral decline in which a group of 2019 parliamentarians fell and with the helplessness in the conduct of state affairs.”

She stressed, "the movement's principled adherence to the Tunisian democratic achievement and the need to provide clear guarantees according to a specific schedule that preserves the republic and democracy and completes the building of its institutions after addressing the breaches of the political system."

Former President Marzouki

In an interview with Al Jazeera, former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki referred to what he described as a "regional decision to liquidate the Arab Spring."


Al-Marzouki considered what is happening in Tunisia a failure of the entire system, and asserted that those he described as putschists do not have solutions, and accused President Said of perjuring his promise to protect the constitution during the presidential oath.

People's Movement

The movement (15 deputies in Parliament) announced its support for the decisions issued by Said, and considered them "a way to correct the course of the revolution, which was violated by the forces opposed to it, especially the Ennahda movement and the entire ruling system."

She said that the President of the Republic did not deviate from these decisions from the constitution, but rather acted according to what his responsibility dictates to him within the framework of the law and the constitution in order to preserve the integrity of the country, the country's security and independence, and to ensure the normal functioning of the state's wheels.

For her part, the leader of the Democratic Current Party, Samia Abbou, said - in an intervention with Al Jazeera - that the measures taken by the president did not violate the constitution.

Abbou defended not consulting the heads of government and parliament before taking these measures.

labor union

The Federation, which is the most powerful trade union organization in the country, said that the exceptional measures taken by President Saeed must be accompanied by constitutional guarantees, adding - in a statement - that "care must be taken to adhere to constitutional legitimacy and to ensure the continuation of the democratic path, respect for rights and freedoms and to resort to democratic mechanisms in any change".

And he expressed his rejection of any party's resort to violence, the policy of cure and settling accounts, and called on all parties to distance the military establishment from political quarrels, and the Union said that its Secretary-General Noureddine Taboubi will meet President Saeed later today.

Election Commission

The head of the Independent High Authority for Elections, Nabil Baffoun, described Said's decisions as not in conformity with the provisions of the constitution, and added that Chapter 80, on which the president relied, imposes the permanent sitting of Parliament even in exceptional cases, and clarified that it is not possible to go to early elections in light of a power vacuum. Because the constitution specifies that only in the event of the parliament being dissolved, and this is not available.

Boqun pointed out that the commission is not only technical, but also constitutional, and the only reference for holding early elections is the constitution.

Journalists Syndicate

The Tunisian Journalists Syndicate called on President Said to clarify his visions regarding the recent decisions he announced yesterday during a meeting with security leaders.

She stressed that Saeed must present a roadmap that will take place with the participation of various national forces without exclusion, and that it will be in accordance with a specific timetable that will guarantee the civility of the state and the continuity of the democratic transition path.