Tunisia’s parliamentary speaker Rached Ghannouchi said on Monday that the assembly was in session and reiterated its rejection of President Kais Saied’s decision to suspend parliament.
On Sunday, Tunisian President Kais Saied ousted Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi’s government, froze parliament and adopted the executive with the help of a new prime minister.
“The Tunisian parliament is in session and we are following (its) legitimacy and rejecting the coup,” Ghannouchi, the leader of the moderate Islamist Ennahdha party, told Turkish broadcaster TRT.
“Since the moment we heard about the coup, we have taken to the streets and we are trying to follow the Turkish lesson,” Ghannouchi added, referring to the 2016 defeat in Turkey.
“The Tunisian military distinguishes between what is political and military and has no interest in engaging in political issues,” he said.
Parliament’s speakers accused the emirate media of being behind the coup and targeting the Ennahdha movement.
In his Sunday speech, Saied said he would waive the immunity of all MEPs and take control of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. He claimed that he had made the decisions after consulting Mechichi and Ghannouchi.
Ghannouchi, for his part, described Saied’s move as nothing more than a “full-fledged coup” against the Tunisian constitution, revolution and freedoms in the country.
Tunisia has been gripped by a deep crisis since January 16, when Mechichi announced a change of government but Saied refused to hold a ceremony to swear in the new ministers. Tunisia is also facing an unprecedented spread of COVID-19 strains in most states, causing a rapid spread of the virus.
Tunisia is seen as the only Arab country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among other Arab countries that also witnessed popular revolutions that overthrew the ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya and Yemen.
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