Saied dissolves Tunisia's parliament after "historic plenary session"

Despite being considered as the only Arab country that has experienced the popular revolutions of the 'Arab Spring' and has managed to carry out a democratic transition, Tunisia has been plunged into a strong political crisis since 25 July. The dismissal of the government team and the suspension of parliament by the president, Kais Saied, led him to concentrate all executive authority in his hands in order to "restore social peace". His opponents described this as a "coup d'état" or, as in the case of the Islamist Ennahda party, a "monopoly of the powers" of the state. 

Since then, the Tunisian president has been working on drafting constitutional reforms, which, according to the roadmap, will be submitted to a popular referendum on 25 July 2022. Subsequently, the holding of early legislative elections - on 17 December this year - will put an end to the suspension of parliament. This process, in Saied's words, should allow citizens to "recover their sovereignty". 

But as if this controversial scenario were not enough, in February 2022 a communiqué from the Tunisian Presidency announced, via Facebook, the appointment of a new High Council of the Judiciary. By means of a decree, Kais Saied also interfered in the country's justice system, just after the controversy unleashed by the dissolution of the previous High Council. 

Now, after more than eight months without parliamentary activity, Rachid Ghanuchi, leader of the main opposition Ennahda party, has called for two plenary sessions of the chamber. One on Wednesday and one on Saturday, challenging Saeid's authority. 

"On the agenda are the serious financial, economic and social conditions Tunisia is facing," the parliament's office said yesterday. "All actions of the speaker of parliament and members of parliament related to their parliamentary functions are subject to Article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution, which stipulates that parliament can remain in permanent session," Maher Madhioub, parliamentarian in charge of information and communication at the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP), told to Al Arab media. 

Already a few days ago, Rachid Ghanuchi expressed intentions to "consider the elimination of the exceptional measures" that suspended Parliament in July. Yesterday, during a remote plenary session in which 116 of the 217 parliamentarians took part, the results of the voting showed the unanimous position of the hemicycle: all 116 representatives voted in favour of cancelling Kais Saied's measures. According to Maher Madhioub, the law was to come into force immediately after the vote.

"I am participating today in an historic plenary session, with great conviction, to convey three messages," stressed Islamist MP Samir Dilou, a member of Ennahda. "Save Tunisia, get it out of the crisis and avoid economic catastrophe and bankruptcy".

"Now the Assembly can be part of the solution if MPs fully exercise their functions, focusing on legitimacy to protect democracy, and making themselves available for a national dialogue that includes all actors and opens a new page", Dilou said. And in this scenario, the president is "the most important part of the problem", but Said "can also become part of the solution if he prioritises the general interest over his desire to implement his personal agenda", the MP concluded. 

A few hours later, in the National Security Council, the Tunisian leader officially dissolved parliament. "Those who try to attack the state or carry out internal fighting will have to face the institutions and powers that will divert them from their objectives", warned Kais Saied. Meanwhile, in a similar vein, Justice Minister Leïla Jaffel described the session as a "conspiracy" against state security, and ordered the opening of an investigation against those involved.

Some observers have criticised the intentions of Rachid Ghanuchi and his parliamentary initiative as having little to do with reactivating the chamber, but rather with creating a dissident image around Kais Saied. This would exert external pressure on the president, and complicate the arrival of economic aid and loans to overcome the financial crisis that is suffocating the country. 

Other voices, such as that of Zuhair Al-Magzawi, secretary general of the Popular Movement, have accused the Ennahda leader of trying to create two parallel authorities in Tunisia, similar to what is happening in Libya: two governments and two parliaments to run a country divided in two. 

Organisations such as the Tunisian General Union of Workers (UGTT) have shown that, within the country, there are polarised tendencies in the face of this situation. Thus, the secretary general of the UGTT union, Noureddine Taboubi, spoke out in favour of Saied's measures, rejecting the meeting and accusing the parliamentarians of "leading the country into conflict and political division". "The reconstruction of a country has to be done in partnership with civil society and all national forces," he said on Mosaïque FM radio.