Tunisian President Kais Saied said that circumstances prompted him to take "exceptional measures" and that he was keen to implement the constitution, while Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi expressed his willingness to compromise in order to restore democracy, waving the street's call to defend its democracy if a government was not formed.

In his last statement, the Tunisian president said that the state is not a puppet driven by strings, and that there are "lobbies" and corrupt people who move the strings from behind the curtain, considering that there is no room for manipulating the state, dividing it or exploding it from within.

He added that the circumstances prompted him to take what he called "exceptional measures", and that he was keen to implement the constitutional text, as no one was arrested or deprived of his rights.

"We derive confidence from the people's power of attorney that appeared on more than one occasion, as well as on July 25," the Tunisian president added.

Said also said, "so that everyone in Tunisia and abroad can be assured that we are subject to the law, so that everyone can be assured of rights and freedoms."

Meanwhile, the Tunisian Official Gazette announced the issuance of a presidential order suspending the functions of the House of Representatives and lifting the immunity of members for a period of one month, adding that this period is subject to extension.

President Saeed had issued a presidential order assigning Reda Gharslawi to run the Ministry of the Interior, and Gharslawi took the constitutional oath before the president, after he was serving as an advisor.

And local media in Tunisia quoted security sources as saying that Al-Azhar Longo, the director general of the relevant departments of the Ministry of the Interior, which includes the intelligence service, had been dismissed.

For his part, a spokesman for the Court of Appeal in Tunis, Habib Tarkhani, said that the Tunisian Public Prosecutor ordered the opening of an investigation against the former head of the National Anti-Corruption Authority, Chawki Tabib, on charges of fraud.

He also ordered the opening of an investigation against the head of the Dignity Coalition bloc, Seif El-Din Makhlouf, the head of the Arbitration and Reconciliation Committee of the Truth and Dignity Commission, Khaled Al-Kraishi, and the representative of the National Bloc and former minister in the National Security Department at the Presidency of the Republic, Mabrouk Kurshid.

President Saeed explains during the meeting the measures he took (Anadolu Agency)

Constitutional guarantees

These decisions come at a time when calls are continuing for the Tunisian president to provide constitutional guarantees, as the National Council of the Democratic Current has expressed its understanding of the exceptional measures taken by the president and their motives represented in the dangers the country is going through.

The Council stressed - during an emergency session - the need for the procedures to be accompanied by constitutional guarantees aimed at protecting rights and freedoms and preserving constitutional and democratic gains, as he put it.

The National Council of the Democratic Current demanded - in a statement - the President of the Republic to present a road map that guarantees a return to the normal constitutional situation, and the selection of a prime minister with competence and integrity to form a government capable of facing the challenges of the stage.

The statement also blamed what it described as the dominant political forces, led by the Ennahda movement, for the deterioration of the situation in Tunisia.

The statement of the National Assembly is considered a change in its position, as it announced in its first statement, after the announcement of the exceptional measures, its violation of the President of the Republic’s interpretation of Article 80 of the Constitution, and his rejection of the resulting decisions and procedures outside the constitution.

At the international level, Transparency International expressed its concern that what happened in Tunisia after Said's recent decisions may have significant repercussions on Tunisia's young democracy, as it described it.

The organization said - in a tweet - that the Tunisian president had dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament after protests over the government's handling of the Corona pandemic.

Ghannouchi enters the headquarters of the Ennahda party, which he heads (Reuters)

Renaissance party

On the other hand, Ghannouchi expressed, in a statement to Agence France-Presse, his party's readiness for any concessions in order to restore democracy, noting that the constitution is more important than his party's adherence to power.

At the same time, Ghannouchi warned that if there is no agreement on the next government, he will call on the street to defend its democracy, and impose the lifting of the locks on Parliament, as he put it.

Ghannouchi revealed that he had not had any conversations with President Saied or with his aides since the president's decisions were issued, but added that there should be a national dialogue.

He added that there are attempts to blame the negatives of the stage on "Ennahda", and acknowledged mistakes in the economic and social fields, and that Ennahda bears part of the responsibility.

Ghannouchi also said that Tunisia was subjected to conspiracy against its democracy by regimes "that fear Tunisian democracy."

In turn, Ali Larayedh, Vice President of the Ennahda Movement, said that what President Said did was a violation of the principle of separation of powers and a gathering of executive, legislative and judicial powers in his hands.

Al-Areed added - on his Facebook page - that this was a grave breach of the constitution in letter and spirit, noting that what happened is the shortest way to plunge the country into climates of chaos and individualism, and then tyranny with all its "scourges", as he put it.

The Vice-President of the Ennahda Movement also announced that it had received the messages expressed by the people and their legitimate demands, and is in the process of drawing lessons and lessons from all these events.