Tunisia - The

protest demonstrations of thousands of Tunisians on Al-Thawra Street in the capital, to denounce the coup against the constitution and the democratic path, represented a turning point - according to observers - regarding the popular legitimacy that Tunisian President Kais Saied has always justified his exceptional measures.

Since last July 25, the president announced exceptional measures in which he suspended the work of Parliament, dismissed the prime minister and assumed executive power, which sparked a wave of internal and international controversy and questions about the fate of democracy in Tunisia.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, activist Laila Al-Najjar says that she chose to endure the hardship of movement and go down to Al-Thawra Street in her wheelchair;

To express its rejection of the overthrow of the constitution and to deliver a message that is guaranteed to reach the president, that popular legitimacy is not a blank check.

She added, "I elected Qais Saeed because I considered him an honest and trustworthy person who will preserve the gains of the revolution and its constitution, which was brought about by the sacrifices of the martyrs, but today I feel great frustration and fear that my country will slip into the square of tyranny."

Laila called on the president to retract his decisions and the parliament to return to work and appoint a government as soon as possible, stressing that she still holds hope that Saeed will restore his accounts and not be drawn into an adventure with unknown consequences that may pay a heavy price.

Demonstrators expressed their fears of Tunisia's return to authoritarianism (Al Jazeera)

popular momentum

The Tunisian president has long repeated the saying "the people want" in all his speeches, and that he derives his legitimacy from the popular momentum that supports him, and he considered - in a speech on July 25 last - that "his path is the path that the people have planned."

A few days ago, the president chose to address the Tunisians from Al-Thawra Street in the heart of the Tunisian capital, hours after the suicide of a young man by burning, reiterating his respect for the constitution and denying the coup accusation leveled against him by his opponents.

In the same context, Saeed hinted at his tendency to amend chapters of the constitution, saying that "the people are tired of the constitution, and constitutions are not eternal, and amendments can be made that respond to the Tunisian people, because sovereignty is for the people and they have the right to express their will."

The fall of the coup saying

And the leader of the People's Movement, Osama Oweidat, believes - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - that the citizens' departure to demonstrate against the president freely, drops the notion of coup and dictatorship that his opponents have always invoked to distort him.

Oueidat stressed that Qais Saeed did not overturn, but rather triumphed over the will of the people, which demanded him to protect the path of democracy and protect the state from corruption, considering that those who rose against him yesterday are a minority that does not express the position of the majority of Tunisians.

He stressed that the Tunisian president will not retreat one iota from what he described as the corrective path that he has taken since July 25, and move towards building the state away from the logic of absurdity and political quarrels.

The leader of the People's Movement indicated that constitutions are not a sacred text, and that going towards amending the political system and a comprehensive change of the political map is a foregone conclusion.

Messages and indications

Regarding the implications of the protests that came out against the president for the first time since the date of July 25, contemporary history professor Muhammad Daif Allah - to Al Jazeera Net - says that it carries messages inside and outside, and Qais Saeed, who has long spoken about the legitimacy that he derives from the popular belt supporting him.

He pointed out that the people who came out against him, and raised strong slogans accusing him of treason, employment abroad, treachery and perjury to protect the constitution, will weaken his argument regarding the actions he takes and justify them with the will of the people.

He stressed that hundreds of people taking to the streets give the impression to international parties abroad that the Tunisian people are divided between supporters and opponents of the president, and that there is a strong opposition that rejects the "coup against the constitution."

Dhaifallah did not rule out that yesterday's demonstration would have setbacks related to the positions of the political parties, which might push them to keep pace with the voice of the street and go beyond condemnation.