Page 20 - Issue 34

ELITE Vol.1, issue 34, August 2021
Vol.1, issue 34, August 2021

the tunisian saga : a constitutional coup or a

new system under constructuin?

Youssef Sharaf - 4th Level - Political Science
More than 10 years after its revolution, Tunisia today is going he organized a sit-in outside the headquarters, and called for
through critical time, no less dangerous than the situation before “supporters of Ennahda and the Tunisian people to defend the
the incident of Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in December revolution", which led to a somewhat intensified situation and a
2010, nor the political crisis that came after the killing of the confrontation between hundreds of Ennahda supporters and
leftist leader Mohamed Burhami in July 2013. In addition to years supporters of the president's decisions with stones and bottles.
of political paralysis, critical economic situation, decline in state This opposition didn’t come from the Ennahda alone, but from
services and high unemployment, with the fatally high rate of
infection with Covid-19 this summer and its catastrophic impact other political parties: the Dignity Alliance (loyal to Ennahda),
on the health sector, the Tunisian popular anger at the and the secular parties, Qalb Tounes, and the Democratic
performance of the government and political parties has increased, Current.
particularly from the Brotherhood's Ennahda party, which is
considered the most successful party since 2011 and has formed Despite the position of the political parties condemning Said's
successive government coalitions in Tunisia. In light of this actions, the million-member Tunisian General Labor Union
situation, and in an unprecedented step since the outbreak of the expressed its support for Said's decisions (with fears that his
Arab Spring, President Kais Saied used these anti-government powers would be expanded more than 30 days), and there was no
protests to decide on Sunday, July 25, 2021 to exceptionally opposition (at least ostensibly) from the army and the police,
consolidate his powers and take full control of the executive which indicates their loyality to the President of the Republic,
authority by dismissing Prime Minister Hisham Meishishi, as well and that he will not back down any time soon from his decisions.
as ministers of Justice, Defense, and Interior Affairs, and also Moving forward, the crisis is likely to escalate, with both sides
suspended the powers of members of Parliament (which is divided urging their supporters to take to the streets.
among a large number of parties) for a period of 30 days.
The legitimacy of Said's decisions depended on his reading, as a
constitutional law professor, of Article 80 of the Tunisian Although we may have understood the dimensions of the crisis,
constitution which allows the president to seize power temporarily it’s noteworthy that its roots extend beyond that, and that what is
in emergency situations. However, the article also states that the happening now between President Saeed and Parliament Speaker
Parliament Speaker and the Prime Minister must be consulted Ghannouchi represents only the latest chapters of the raging
before any emergency powers are invoked and that Parliament conflict between them. In this regard, it’s not forgettable that the
remain "in continuous session throughout this period" unfrozen. In clash between them is not on an ideological or religious basis, as
this regard, Rashid Ghannouchi, Parliament speaker and leader of Kais Said has stricter religious positions than Ennahda. Rather,
the Brotherhood’s Ennahda Party, considered Said’s steps to be a the rivalry stems primarily from competition over the formation
“coup against the revolution and the constitution,” and therefore, of politics in Tunisia, and this is due to two complementary
after being banned by the army from entering the parliament’s reasons, the first is structural, which is what the Tunisian
headquarters on Monday, July 26, 2021, constitution created in 2014.

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