Amid tension with the judiciary, Tunisian President Kais Saied said he plans to dissolve the country’s Supreme Judicial Council.
in a statement on Sunday, President Saied expressed that the council “has become a thing of the past,” adding that the council has become a place where “positions and appointments are sold according to loyalties.”
Working as a body responsible for the independence of the judiciary, the move comes shortly before planned protests by Saied’s supporters on Sunday to demand the dissolution of the council.
The Tunisian president said, “It’s your right to protest and it’s your right to dissolve the Supreme Judicial Council.”
With the Tunisian leader criticizing the judiciary over delay in issuing rulings in cases of corruption and terrorism, tension has marred Saied’s relations with the council.
There was no comment from the Supreme Judicial Council on Saied’s statements.
On July 25, 2021, Saied dismissed the government suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority amid mounting public anger over economic stagnation and political paralysis.
While critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup, Saied insists that his “exceptional measures” were meant to “save” the country.
