Tunisian President, Kais Saied ordered a partial suspension of the country’s constitution and the prolongation of extraordinary measures barring Parliament from fulfilling its functions and stripping its members’ immunity in September.
President Kais Saied has been urged by the Tunisian Parliament to reconsider his “unconstitutional” choices and to lift the parliamentary institutions’ freeze. The parliament’s presidency, in a statement released on Tuesday, urged Lawmakers to protect their right to work by legal means and criticized officials being tried before military and civilian courts, calling the proceedings “unjust” and “politically motivated.”
It said it is watching the serious ramifications of the “unconstitutional presidential order” taken on September 22 to halt the payout of Parliament funding in “violation of Article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution.”
It declared that “without a free parliament, there can be no democracy,” appealing with Saied to withdraw the additional restrictions placed on parliament and allow it to resume its legislative and oversight tasks. “The persistent drive to defame and deform the most significant democratically elected constitutional institution is a blow to the republic’s values and an insult to the state’s honor,” it continued.
Tunisia’s presidency did not respond to the statement. Saied has held practically absolute power since firing the prime minister, suspending parliament, and assuming administrative authority by citing a national emergency on July 25. On September 29, he appointed a new prime minister, and a new government was formed as a result.