Tunisian President Kais Saied formalized his July 25 coup on Wednesday by promulgating exceptional provisions strengthening his powers to the detriment of the government and Parliament, which he will de facto replace by legislating by decree.
These provisions, which tend to presidential the hybrid government system framed by the 2014 Constitution, aroused the ire of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, Mr. Saied’s main opponent, in a country plagued by divisions and successive political crises. these last years.
They also reinforce concerns for the sustainability of democracy in Tunisia, the only country to have succeeded in its democratic transition after the Arab Spring of which it was the cradle in 2011.
“The legislative texts are taken in the form of decree-laws and promulgated by the President of the Republic”, states one of the articles decided by Mr. Saied and published in the Official Journal.
The text also states that “the president exercises executive power with the help of a council of ministers, headed by a head of government”. “The President of the Republic chairs the Council of Ministers and can delegate his presidency to the head of government. “
The presidential prerogatives enumerated in the text confer on Mr. Saied the right to appoint and dismiss ministers, appoint diplomats stationed abroad and make appointments in the senior civil service.
“Exceptional measures”
“The government is responsible for its actions before the President of the Republic”, further specifies the text.
In the system in a place governed by the 2014 Constitution that Saied wants to amend, most of the executive power is in the hands of the government and the measures announced on Wednesday clearly tip the balance on the side of the presidency.
On July 25, Mr. Saied, 63, took full power by dismissing the government and suspending parliament in which Ennahdha, his pet peeve, played a pivotal role. He extended these measures on August 24 “until further notice”.
Many Tunisians welcomed these measures with enthusiasm because, exasperated by their political class, they expected strong acts against corruption and impunity in a country in serious social and economic difficulties. But opponents, political parties, magistrates, and lawyers had said they feared an “authoritarian drift”.
Saied on Wednesday announced the continued freezing of Parliament and the promulgation of “exceptional measures” for “the exercise of legislative power” and “the exercise of executive power”, which are the subject of two chapters of the Constitution. , now suspended de facto.
To underline the transitory nature of these decisions, the presidential decree adds that Mr. Saied “undertakes the preparation of draft amendments relating to political reforms with the assistance of a commission which will be organized by presidential decree”.
“High-risk area”
“These revision projects must-have for objective the establishment of a truly democratic regime in which the people are effectively the holder of sovereignty and the source of the powers which they exercise through elected representatives or by way of the referendum”, says the president in one of the decrees.
Acting “in the name of the will of the people” has become a mantra for Mr. Saied, who seems confident that he has enough popular support to profoundly change the system in place.
On Monday, from Sidi Bouzid, the cradle of the 2011 revolution, the president announced the forthcoming appointment of a new head of government “but on the basis of transitional measures responding to the will of the people”.
Wednesday’s “presidential decree,” says “to continue to suspend all powers of the House of Representatives, to lift parliamentary immunity for all its members and to end the privileges granted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and its members.”
“On September 22, Tunisia made the transition from democratic power to one-man power,” responded on Facebook Samir Dilou, a leader of Ennahdha.
Another party official, Mohammad Al-Goumani, accused Mr. Saied of “putting in place a new abridged constitution, thus turning against the one of 2014 to which he had been sworn in.” “It is leading Tunisia to a high-risk area.”
