The Tunisian presidency announced today, Wednesday, that President Kais Saied is holding a meeting with the leaders of the army, and the parliamentary blocs renewed their rejection of the "coup."
While France demanded the speedy appointment of a new prime minister, Arab and Western positions were issued regarding the political crisis.
During the last hours, the political crisis caused by the president's suspension of Parliament, the dismissal of the government, and the announcement of his personal assumption of the executive power and the position of attorney general, intensified.
The Presidency of the Tunisian Republic said that the Tunisian President is currently holding a meeting of members of the Supreme Council of Armies, and senior security leaders at the Carthage Palace in the capital, Tunis.
The meeting with the army leaders comes after a presidential order was issued to terminate the tasks of several officials, including Al-Muizz Lidin Allah Al-Muqaddam, Director of the Office of the dismissed Prime Minister Hisham Al-Mashishi, the Secretary General of the Government Walid Al-Dhahabi, and all the advisors to the dismissed Prime Minister, who are: Rashad bin Ramadan, Salim Al-Tisawi, Mufdi Al-Masdi, and the head of the Commission. General for the martyrs and wounded of the revolution and terrorist operations Abdul Razzaq Al-Kilani.
Earlier, the Tunisian president said that the measures he took are temporary, and that they came due to the deepening of the crisis, as he described it.
During a meeting with union and civil organizations, Saeed stressed that freedoms will not be affected.
political rejection
However, the political currents that are most represented in Parliament see what happened as a "coup" against the constitution and the revolution, and they demand President Saeed to reverse the exceptional measures.
Most of the parliamentary blocs opposed the exceptional decisions of the President of the Republic, as "Ennahda" (53 deputies out of 217) considered it a "coup", and the "Heart of Tunisia" bloc (29 deputies) considered it a grave breach of the constitution, and the "Democratic Current" bloc (22 deputies) rejected it. As a result, the "Dignity Coalition" bloc (18 seats) described it as invalid, while the People's Movement supported it (15 MPs).
Tunisian Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi said that things do not bode well on the second day of what he called the "new era".
Ghannouchi - who heads the Ennahda movement - added that parliament was closed by a tank, and the offices of a number of televisions and media were confiscated, and that he hoped the president would stop what he called "the path of deterioration towards constitutional dictatorship."
He said that dictatorship does not produce a cure, but rather it is the greatest danger.
He pointed out that he does not see that the target is one party, Ennahda, but rather the democratic system that guarantees the separation of powers. Therefore, the movement rejected the actions of President Kais Saied, and most of the political scene refuses to sacrifice democracy.
As for the former Minister of Defense and head of the "National Secretariat" party, Mohamed Sabo, he accused regional countries of being behind the disruption of the Tunisian parliament and fighting its symbols such as its president, Ghannouchi.
He said that the hands and money of a Gulf state - which he described as a dictatorship - were behind the attempts to destabilize Jordan about two months ago, and also financed the coup in Egypt against former President Mohamed Morsi, and it is the same that is working to destroy Tunisian democracy today.
different positions
Externally, the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had a telephone conversation with the Tunisian President, during which he expressed the need to overcome the current political crisis in Tunisia, according to a statement by the Amiri Diwan in Qatar.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said - in a statement - that it is following the course of the situation in Tunisia, respects everything related to Tunisian internal affairs and considers it a sovereign matter, and affirmed Riyadh's confidence in the Tunisian leadership.
For its part, France urged Tunisia to appoint a new prime minister and a cabinet to replace the government sacked by President Kais Saied.
The French Foreign Ministry said that Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his Tunisian counterpart Othman Al-Jarandi that Tunisia's urgent appointment of a new prime minister and government is critical.
Other Western countries expressed concern about the latest developments, as the United States urged the Tunisian president to adhere to democratic principles.
The British Foreign Office said that the solution in Tunisia is achieved only through the principles of democracy, transparency, human rights and freedom of expression, and called on all parties to protect the democratic gains of the 2011 revolution.