Tunisian President Kais Saied issued a presidential decree to form a national advisory body for a new republic, two advisory committees and another for national dialogue, and all political parties were excluded from their membership, amid the Tunisian Labor Union's rejection of the proposed dialogue formula.
According to the decree issued in the Official Gazette on Friday, the National Consultative Commission will be chaired by Professor Sadiq Belaid, and will be entrusted with coordinating between two advisory committees, the first economic and social, and the second legal, provided that the National Dialogue Committee submits the final proposals to President Said with the aim of establishing a "new republic".
According to the presidential decree, the National Dialogue Committee includes members of the two advisory committees, whose role is to combine the proposals submitted by each committee with the aim of establishing a new republic.
The decree indicated that the final report of the National Consultative Commission for a New Republic will be submitted to the President of the Republic no later than June 20, i.e. before the date of the previously announced referendum on July 25.
The labor union refuses to participate
In response to the decree, the influential Tunisian General Labor Union said on Friday that the dialogue proposed by President Kais Saied in this way is rejected.
"The crisis that Tunisia is going through requires a dialogue with the participation of national organizations, associations and parties," said Sami Tahri, the union's assistant secretary-general, published on the union's website.
He added that the president "no matter how miraculous he is, he will not be able alone to solve an accumulating crisis," noting that the Labor Union confirmed in advance and is committed to not participating in "conditional dialogue whose results are predetermined."
The Tunisian General Labor Union is a major player in the country, as it has about a million members under its banner, which makes it able to paralyze the economy with strikes.
The majority of political and civil forces in Tunisia reject the president's measures (Anatolia)
Al-Nahda warns
In a related context, the Ennahda movement renewed its "warning position against the danger of attempts to seize and dominate the constitutional and amendment bodies."
In a statement issued by the movement's executive office, it considered that "what was nominated from the deliberations of the electoral body clearly reflects the wrong path taken by the coup in dismantling state institutions, undermining the gains of the democratic transition and trampling on the independence of these bodies and the transparency of their work."
And in the middle of last January, Saeed announced the launch of a national consultation via an electronic platform, with the aim of enhancing citizen participation in the democratic transition process, followed by a popular referendum next July to determine the political system and the electoral system scheduled for next December.
Since last July 25, Tunisia has been witnessing a severe political crisis, at which time Said began imposing exceptional measures, including freezing the competencies of Parliament, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, dismissing the government and appointing new ones.
The majority of political and civil forces in Tunisia reject these measures, and consider them a coup against the constitution.