Speaking in a video posted on the Tunisian Presidency’s social media account, Tunisian President Kais Saied said, “I am dissolving the Parliament to protect the Tunisian State and its institutions.”
Deeming the online parliamentary session illegal, Saied accused the parliamentarians of orchestrating a “failed coup d’état”.
Yesterday, 121 of the 217 deputies in the Assembly attended an online session chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Tariq al-Fetiti.
At the session, the draft law submitted for the annulment of President Saied’s extraordinary decisions on July 25, 2021, which suspended the Assembly and lifted parliamentary immunity, was approved with 116 votes.
The Tunisian Assembly, chaired by Rached Ghannouchi, decided to “hold an online session on March 30” after a meeting attended by the majority of the Assembly Office members on March 28.
President Saied, on the other hand, described the parliament’s attempt to reconvene as “the miserable efforts of some out of fear of going to the polls.”
The Assembly is expected to hold another online session on April 2, where the political and financial crises in the country will be evaluated.
After the extraordinary decisions of Tunisian President Saied on July 25, 2021, which suspended the Assembly and lifted parliamentary immunity, a kind of “exceptional situation” occurred in the country.
Saied completely subordinated the executive branch to himself, expanding his powers with new decrees on September 22, 2021.
Some sections in the country describe Saied’s decisions as a “coup” and argue that Tunisia is moving away from democracy.
