The world’s attention is turning to Tunisia following the violent protests that took place and were followed by President Qais’ decisions.
Most notably of these decisions are the dissolution of Parliament and the removal of Prime Minister Hisham El-Mashaishi, which angered the Islamist Ennahda movement, which has a majority parliament.
This is seen as the biggest challenge to Tunisia’s democratic system since the 2011 revolution.
What happened?
Protests broke out in Tunisian cities on Sunday on a national day to celebrate the 64th anniversary of Republic Day, in protest of the worsening economic situation, especially considering the country’s epidemic crisis.
Protesters chanted slogans demanding the dissolution of Parliament and the overthrow of the government, and several headquarters of the Ennahda Movement, which represents the majority in Parliament, were burned and attacked.
Despite police barricades erected at the entrances and the center of the capital, hundreds of people, mostly young men, gathered in front of Parliament.
They chanted anti-government slogans, which they consider to be behind the Islamist Ennahda party, and chanted
“The people want to dissolve parliament.”
What is Chapter 80th of the Tunisian constitution?
The decisions of the Tunisian president were based on Chapter 80 of the Constitution, which allows such measures in case of “imminent danger”.
Saeed noted that one of the decisions he also made was
“The president has the country’s executive power, with the assistance of a government headed by the head of government and appointed by the president of the Republic”.
chapter 80th of the Tunisian constitution states:
The president of the Republic, in case of an imminent threat to the national security, or independence of the country, which is threatening the normal functioning of the state, shall take the measures required by this exceptional situation, after consulting the head of government, the speaker of the parliament and informing the president of the Constitutional Court, and shall announce the measures in a statement to the people.
These measures must be aimed at ensuring the earliest return to normal state functions
In such a case, the president of the Republic may not dissolve the parliament.
President’s decisions between coup and saving the country from the Brotherhood party
Several writers see what happened in Tunisia as a coup against the legitimacy of the elected parliament and the country’s democratic path.
Others describe the president’s decisions as historic and aimed at rescuing the country from the control of the Muslim Brotherhood, which belongs to the Ennahda movement, which has a majority in Parliament.
The fall of the last Brotherhood fortress
Many writers supported President Saeed’s decisions, expressing their joy at the fall of the last Arab government dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab world.
The actions taken by the Tunisian president to stop the deterioration that has hit Tunisia due to the poor performance of the government and parliament are the top priority as president to save the country from the absurdity of bad politicians.
The decisions are a correction of the course of the revolution or a coup against the Constitution?
At a time when everyone is looking forward to where the events in Tunisia will go after President Qais said announced the freezing of the work of Parliament, the dismissal of the government.
The most common question is did Qais Saeed represent a correction of the course of the Tunisian revolution, or is it a coup over the constitution?
The answer to the question represents a gap between supporters of the Tunisian president, on the one hand, and supporters of the Ennahda movement and its leader on the other.
Correction of the course of the 2011 revolution
Speaking after an emergency meeting at the palace of Carthage with security and military officials, the Tunisian president himself said that he based his decisions on Chapter 80th of the Constitution, which allows such measures, in case of imminent danger.
By the provisions of the Constitution, he decided to take measures required by the situation, to save Tunisia
He also stressed that what he did is not a suspension of the Constitution, not a departure from constitutional legitimacy.
Question marks
Many Tunisians raising questions and placing big question marks in the face of the protests, which took place in several Tunisian cities on Sunday, July 25, and following President Qais Saeed’s announcement of his decisions.
They consider that there are many questions about who is behind these protests, the nature of their agendas, and why they came at this time, at a time when the country is experiencing a severe confrontation with the corona epidemic.
The movements and calls to protest on the anniversary of Republic’s Day were not spontaneous.
