Tunisian Democracy In Turmoil After President Sacks Government

Tunisia is facing its worst crisis in a decade of democracy on Monday after President Kais Saied ousted the government and suspended parliament with help from the army.

Saied’s action followed months of deadlock and disputes pitting him against Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and a fragmented parliament as Tunisia descended into an economic crisis exacerbated by one of Africa’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks.

The crisis risks morphing into heated street confrontations as Saied’s critics, including Islamists, warned he was endangering the democratic system introduced after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

Saied invoked emergency powers under the constitution late on Sunday to dismiss Mechichi and suspend parliament for 30 days.

After Mechichi called for protests against the ousting, Saied extended existing COVID-19 restrictions on movement on Monday and vowed any violent opposition will be met with force.

The president urged people not to go into the streets, calling on the Tunisian people to stay calm and not respond to provocations.

The White House said it had not yet determined whether Saied’s actions constituted a coup. However, the U.S. State Department warned Tunisia not to “squander its democratic gains”.

Rival groups faced off outside the parliament building on Monday, pelting each other with stones and hurling insults, but the size of the protests was limited to hundreds, and there were no major reported incidents of violence.

The military surrounded the parliament and government palace, stopping members of parliament and state workers from entering the buildings, as well as the national television station.