A political crisis that turns into clashes in Tunisia.
Clashes erupted on Monday, July 26, in front of the Tunisian Parliament the day after President Kais Saied's suspension of its activities and the dismissal of the Prime Minister, plunging the young democracy into a constitutional crisis.
Sunday evening, after a day of protests in many cities across the country, President Saied announced the "freezing" of Parliament's activities for 30 days.
He also dismissed the head of government Hichem Mechichi from his post in a context of strong popular resentment towards the government for its management of the social and health crisis.
Exchanging bottles and stones in front of the Parliament in Tunis, several hundred supporters of President Saied on Monday prevented supporters of the main parliamentary party Ennahdha from approaching their leader, Rached Ghannouchi, also speaker of the Parliament, noted journalists. from AFP.
Parked by car in front of the closed door of Parliament for several hours, Mr. Ghannouchi was prevented from entering by military forces who blocked the doors of the chamber.
Ennahdha, an Islamist-inspired formation, castigated Kais Saied's measures denouncing "a coup against the revolution and against the Constitution," in a statement posted Sunday evening on Facebook.
The President of the Republic will take charge of the executive power himself "with the help of a government whose president will be appointed by the head of state", Kais Saied said the day before after a meeting. emergency at the Carthage Palace with officials of the security forces.
Political confrontation
A standoff underway for six months between Rached Ghannouchi and President Saied, paralyzes the government and disorganizes the public authorities, while Tunisia has been facing a peak of coronavirus since early July.
With almost 18,000 deaths for 12 million inhabitants, the country has one of the worst death rates in the world.
At around 3:00 a.m. (02:00 GMT), Rached Ghannouchi went to Parliament with deputies from Ennahdha as well as Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Samira Chaouachi, from the allied Qalb Tounes party.
"We want to enter Parliament! (...) we are the protectors of the Constitution," Samira Chaouachi told soldiers deployed behind a closed door of Parliament, according to a video posted by local media and shared on social networks.
"We are the protectors of the nation," replied one of the soldiers before adding that he was carrying out "the instructions".
"The Tunisian people will never accept an authoritarian power whatever your attempts, so do not continue in this game", then reacted Samira Ghannouchi.
Events
Besides Ennahdha, his coalition parties, Qalb Tounes and the nationalist Islamist movement Karama, have condemned Kais Saied's decisions.
In opposition, the Democratic Current, a social democratic party which has repeatedly supported President Saied, rejected his takeover.
The Democratic Current nevertheless blamed the "popular tension and the social, economic and health crisis and the blocking of horizons on the ruling coalition led by Ennahdha".
For the president, these decisions were taken "in order to save Tunisia, the State and the Tunisian people".
After Kais Saied's speech, Tunisians, exasperated by power struggles and the deterioration of the social and health situation, took to the streets on Sunday evening, despite the curfew, firing fireworks and honking their horns. enthusiasm in Tunis and in several other cities.
With AFP
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