She announced her resignation in a blog post .. Who is Nadia Okasha, the "black box" of the Tunisian president?

TUNIS -

The sudden resignation of Nadia Okacha, director of the Tunisian President's office, Kais Saied, raised several question points among the political and popular circles, at a time when she was satisfied with announcing her decision through a post on her official account, which is documented on Facebook.

"Today, I decided to submit my resignation to the President of the Republic from the position of Director of the Presidential Office, after two years of work," the text of the post published this evening read.

And she continued, "I had the honor of working for the higher interest of the country from my position, with the effort I had on the side of the President of the Republic."

Okasha justified her decision to resign due to the existence of "fundamental differences in viewpoints related to the best interest of the nation," without specifying those differences.

fundamental differences

Okasha, 41, who took office in late January 2020, is described as the president's black box and keeper of his secrets.

Its role, according to observers of the administrative side, goes beyond the palace to defining the broad policies of the state and its foreign relations.

And in breaking all the norms and laws related to the plan of the director of the presidential office in Tunisia, Okasha accompanies the president in all his activities, solutions and travels, even those related to meeting presidents and dignitaries, as well as attending meetings of the National Security Council.

Okasha held several academic positions in the field of public and international law, to occupy the position of assistant legal expert at the European Union Election Observation Mission in 2011, and then as an advisor to the mission’s final report.

It also played a major role in introducing the political concepts related to Said's project and his vision of governance in relation to his famous slogan "The People Want".

The resigning director of the Court had previously been criticized by her colleagues in the presidential team, who were former advisors to the president, and she was accused of being behind the resignation of several figures in the palace because of her growing influence and her association with foreign parties.

The godmother of the coup

Many of the president's opponents and political opponents acknowledge that his chief of staff had a pivotal role in what they described as the coup plan that Saeed led on July 25, according to which he dismissed the prime minister and froze the work of Parliament and assumed all powers, and many called her "the godmother of the coup" against the constitution. and democracy.

And the British "Middle East Eye" website had previously published a document that it said was leaked from the office of the Director of the Diwan Okasha, dating back to May 13, 2021, and talking about the arrangement of a plan for a "constitutional dictatorship" in the country.

It is still a mystery to Tunisians about the “poisoned envelope” incident and what was announced months ago that Okasha was subjected to an attempted poisoning and fainting, after she opened a suspicious envelope that arrived at her office, especially after the results of the analyzes and technical tests of the circumstance showed that it was “free of any toxic, narcotic, explosive or dangerous substances.” .

power struggle

While the real reasons behind the resignation of the director of Saeed’s office are not clear, and no official statement or comment has been issued by the presidency, many believe that behind this is a “battle of fissures and a struggle for influence” inside the palace between the Okasha faction and the division of Interior Minister Tawfiq Sharaf al-Din.

Sources suggested that the constitutional law professor, Amin Mahfouz, who is one of the most prominent supporters of President Said's actions, would succeed Okasha.

While others traded the name of the young woman, Marwa Gabo, who is currently a presidential advisor at the palace and in charge of European relations.

It is noteworthy that Okasha's resignation comes within a wave of resignations that swept the presidential team, which included the former director of the court, Tariq Baltayeb, Saeed's political advisor, Abdel Raouf Bel-Tabib, and the two people in charge of the media, Reem Qassem and Rashida Al-Naifer, and the National Security Adviser, General Muhammad Al-Hamdi, and others.