A prominent Tunisian lawyer and expert in public law, Ayyad Ben Achour, described the decisions taken by Tunisian President Kais Saied on July 25 as a coup against the Tunisian constitution.
Ben Achour clarified in an interview with the Tunisian newspaper "Lapresse" that President Said not only exceeded his powers through these decisions, but also seriously and arbitrarily violated the most important provisions of the Tunisian Constitution.
He said that the president's decisions did not meet the objective and formal conditions stipulated in Chapter 80 of the constitution on which they were based, as it clearly states that "the Assembly of the People's Representatives remains in permanent session", which means the exclusion of the parliamentary recess, and the continuation of the Council's activities normally, especially Managing the state of emergency under the same law, noting that freezing the parliament’s activity means dissolving it, which is strictly prohibited by Chapter 80.
The Tunisian legal expert explained that what happened on July 25 - coinciding with the anniversary of the establishment of the republic - was not surprising, but rather was a premeditated operation, and that "the leaked document on May 13, 2021 was not a joke, but a real project and a plan to overthrow Constitution by resorting to Article 80.
Ben Achour said that describing the recent decisions as a constitutional coup "is a contradictory expression, as there can be no legitimate constitutional coup."
He added, "Resorting to Chapter 80 is nothing but a naive pretext that can only deceive those who are willing to accept any alternative that puts an end to the deplorable situation in the country, and stops partisan strife and political farce that Parliament is witnessing," as he put it.
Ben Achour saw that those who went out to celebrate in the streets, rejoicing at the recent decisions, will come out tomorrow to express their displeasure and disappointment.
He adds, "Historically, let us remember what happened in the process of advancing on Rome, which led to the strengthening of Benito Mussolini and his nationalist fascist party after he gained massive popular support in Italy, and we saw what happened after that, the same thing happened during the coup of November 7 1987 in Tunisia, which was accepted and praised by the majority of the people, and we have seen what happened after that, and there are countless examples in this regard.
In response to questions about the impatience of Tunisians due to the difficult situation, the popularity of the president, the credibility of the popular momentum with which the announcement of these decisions was met, and the extent to which this was spontaneous, Iyad Ben Achour acknowledges that he is also among those who are almost impatient with what is happening In the country, he asserts that he experienced great disappointment due to the way the parties involved in power, successive governments and parliamentary coalitions manage state affairs.
Ben Achour also believes that it is unreasonable to treat evils with more destructive evils, especially through a coup that will inevitably follow chaos or dictatorship or both, as this type of government will not solve the country's economic or social problems, but rather portends a clear failure.
In response to a question about whether the president's gathering of all powers in his hand represents a drift towards tyranny, the Tunisian legal expert said that what happened is a manifestation of the dictatorship itself, where the president becomes the representative of the exclusive and supreme executive authority, the legislative authority, and the judiciary as well.
He expressed his fear that reversing this situation might be very difficult in the future, which might mean the president's permanent monopoly of power.
Ben Achour explained that among the bad effects of the coup was the army's interference in the country's political affairs, and its being in the service of an outlaw project, and he hoped that the army leadership would realize this.