Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday extended the suspension of parliament until further notice, the presidency said, after last month ousting his prime minister and seizing executive power in a move that opponents have called a coup .
Saied also extended the suspension of MPs’ immunity, the presidency said, adding that Saied will deliver a speech to the nation in the coming days, without giving further details.
A month after Saied’s sudden intervention, he has yet to appoint a new prime minister or announce a roadmap demanded by Western allies and key players in Tunisia, including the powerful UGTT Union.
Saied said his intervention was necessary to save the country from collapse. He appears to have broad popular support in Tunisia, where years of poor governance, corruption and political paralysis have been compounded by a deadly increase in COVID-19 cases.
But the president’s moves have raised concerns among some Tunisians about the future of the democratic system the country adopted after its 2011 revolution that triggered the Arab Spring.
Authorities have since placed several officials, including former ministers, under house arrest and have barred politicians and businessmen from traveling.
Saied was elected in a landslide in 2019 promising to stand up against corruption.
(REUTERS)
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