The National Salvation Front, the opposition in Tunisia, warned today, Monday, of what it described as a wave of liquidations that the authorities may advance, while the head of the Ennahda movement, Rached Ghannouchi, spoke about the possibility of the opposition forming a national salvation government.
During a press conference in the Tunisian capital, the head of the Salvation Front, Ahmed Najib Chebbi, said that the opposition cannot remain idly by while the country is on the verge of a wave of political liquidations.
Chebbi added that Tunisia is witnessing media campaigns ahead of the referendum on the new draft constitution scheduled for the 25th of this month, and aim to create the atmosphere for the security pursuit of political leaders.
He added that the media campaigns against many politicians are being pursued, driven by what he called a hostile rhetoric by President Qais Saeed.
The head of the opposition National Salvation Front - which includes political forces, including the Ennahda movement - said that an atmosphere of threat to freedoms prevails, and that many are classified as accused until their innocence is proven, calling what he described as the forces of freedom and democracy in Tunisia to move and refuse to involve state agencies in political conflicts.
Speaking about the targeting of opposition politicians, Chebbi referred to what he considered vague legal prosecutions targeting Ennahda Movement President Rashid Ghannouchi, former Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali and former Defense Minister Obeid Karim Zubaidi.
He said that he expected the judiciary to be fair and respectful of freedoms and not be employed by the authority or by the forces of pressure.
During the same press conference, Salvation Front member lawyer Samir Dilo spoke about upcoming decisions against political figures from the first row to satisfy the president's supporters, as he put it.
Dilo said that many of the judges who were recently dismissed confirmed that they refused to employ them in settling political scores, adding that the Coordination of Judicial Structures - which includes representatives of judges - confirmed that President Kais Saied's goal is to control those who hold prison keys.
The Tunisian president repeatedly denied accusations of undermining freedoms, and decided to organize a referendum on a new constitution on July 25, despite criticism from political forces of the path, which they describe as unilateral.
Ghannouchi said that the president seeks revenge against his opponents (Anadolu Agency)
rescue government
Meanwhile, the head of the Ennahda movement, Parliament Speaker Rashid Ghannouchi, said that there are calls for a political dialogue in Tunisia without President Kais Saied, because he rejected the dialogue called by the Tunisian General Labor Union - the largest union in the country - and many parties.
Ghannouchi added that dialogue could lead to the formation of a rescue government in Tunisia that would take its legitimacy from Parliament and save the country from the danger of the state's fall, as he put it.
He also said that the opposition to what he described as the coup is uniting, and that the president seeks revenge against his opponents, but the judiciary refuses to do so.
Ghannouchi talked about the political project of President Said, saying that they do not know anything about a "jellyfish project" until they discuss it, and that there is no document that explains it.
The head of the Ennahda movement considered that the supporters of the president's project are like a secret organization that is appointed to positions in the state for their loyalty, not for their expertise.
The Ennahda movement considered that the new draft constitution - which grants the president broad powers and establishes a presidential system instead of a semi-parliamentary system - establishes an authoritarian rule.
It is noteworthy that the Tunisian president dissolved parliament at the end of last March, and he has been ruling since July 25, 2021 according to exceptional measures.
Meanwhile, the assistant speaker of the dissolved Parliament of Tunisia stated that a complaint had been submitted to the Inter-Parliamentary Union due to the violations faced by Ghannouchi and parliamentarians.
The role of the judiciary
On the other hand, the head of the Tunisian Judges Association, Anas Al-Hammadi, said that the new draft constitution reflects the head of state's view of the judiciary, which contradicts the people's desire and international standards, as he put it.
Al Hammadi added, in statements to a private Tunisian radio station, that the President of the Republic considers the judiciary to be a mere job for judges affiliated with the executive authority.
He added that the judges refuse to prejudice the right to unionize and the right to strike stipulated in the 2014 constitution in accordance with international standards.
The structures representing Tunisian judges had recently suspended a month-long strike in protest of the Tunisian president's decision to dismiss 57 judges.