Tunisia turmoil deepens as president sacks more officials in governmental cull
Politics | Africa | North Africa | Tunisia
Fact Box:
President Kais Saied has issued further presidential decrees sacking a long list of senior government officials, including the chief army prosecutor, just days after his shock dismissal of the nation’s prime minister and froze Parliament.
President Saied has assumed executive control stating that the measure is temporarily whilst he seeks a new prime minister and government officials.
Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi was dismissed with immediate effect on Sunday resulting in mixed emotions on the streets of Tunis, with many celebrating his removal due to allegations of poor management of the economy and the COVID19 crisis. Whilst a number of citizens expressed concerns that the country could slip in to dictatorship if the situation is not handled carefully.
The 63-year-old president, a former law lecturer, won a landslide election in 2019.
On Wednesday, President Saied additionally dismissed the CEO of state run television channel Wataniya.
Saied has also ordered an investigation into three political parties suspected of receiving undeclared foreign funds before the elections in 2019.
The financial arm of the judiciary opened the probe on 14 July 2021, focusing on “the foreign financing and acceptance of funds of unknown origin”, prosecution spokesman Mohsen Dali said.
Civil society groups have issued a joint statement urging caution against any “illegitimate” extension of Saied’s 30-day suspension of Parliament, and demanded a timeline for political action.
The president said his actions were justified under the constitution, which allows the head of state to take unspecified exceptional measures in the event of an “imminent threat”.
The political turmoil has been brewing for some time amidst a backdrop of a crippling economic crisis, soaring inflation, high unemployment and a rampant COVID19 outbreak.
The Ennahdha Party, which was the largest faction in the coalition government, initially labelled the power grab a “coup d’etat”, a label dismissed by the international community. The US and EU have however voiced strong concern and urged the president to quickly come to a peaceful resolution.
_
© 2021 Al-Sahawat Times, Printed and Distributed by IPMG, an Al-Said Group entity.
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Al-Sahawat Times than ever but advertising revenues across the global media industry are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a total paywall. We want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. Al-Sahawat Times’ independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe truly ethical media and an unbias perspective really matters.
“I appreciate there not being a paywall: it is more democratic for the media to be available for all and not a commodity to be purchased by a few. I’m happy to make a contribution so others with less means still have access to information.”
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, the future of ethical media and the futures of our staff and their families would be much more secure. For as little as £1, you can support Al-Sahawat Times and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
This story is available on:
Talk to a journalist
Email: NewsDesk@alsahawat.com
Web: alsahawat.com
Follow Al-Sahawat Times
⬆️ Follow on Instagram
⬆️ Follow on Twitter
⬆️ Follow on LinkedIn
⬆️ Follow on Facebook
⬆️ Follow on YouTube
Read it on FLIPBOARD
Views: 0
