Skip to content
March 31, 2023
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
  • Discord
Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

From Venezuela and made by Venezuelan Chavistas

Primary Menu
  • News
  • Opinion
  • About us
    • About us
    • Who we are – Becoming a Volunteer
    • Editorial guidelines for contributors
    • Our Sources
      • Venezuelan Sources
      • International Sources
    • Contact us
  • Categories
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Security and Defense
    • International
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Europe
      • Oceania
      • US/Canada
    • Latin America and ALBA-TCP
      • South America
      • Central America and the Caribbean (+Mexico)
    • Ideology-Commune-Labor
    • Health-Education-Sport-Culture-Technology
    • Solidarity and Social Movements
    • OT Specials
  • Support Us
Light/Dark Button
YouTube Channel
  • Home
  • News
  • Tunisia Political Turmoil: President Ousts PM, Suspends Parliament
  • Africa
  • International
  • News

Tunisia Political Turmoil: President Ousts PM, Suspends Parliament

July 28, 2021

Tunisian President Kais Saied has dismissed the country’s prime minister and suspended parliament following a day of rallies against the ruling Ennahda Party, a move greeted with both celebrations and protests on the streets.

Saied announced on Sunday he would assume executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister, in what is seen as the biggest challenge yet to the democratic system Tunisia introduced following a 2011 revolution that ousted former Western-backed ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

In a televised statement announcing the move, Saied warned against any violent response, saying, “I warn any who think of resorting to weapons… and whoever shoots a bullet, the armed forces will respond with bullets.”

The president added that his actions were in line with Article 80 of the constitution, and also cited the article to suspend the immunity of members of parliament.

“Many people were deceived by hypocrisy, treachery and robbery of the rights of the people,” he proclaimed.

The president’s supporters erupted in celebration over the move, but opponents in parliament accused him of staging a coup.

Earlier on Sunday, thousands of Tunisians marched in several cities protesting against the ruling Islamic Ennahda Party, slamming the government’s handling of a surging COVID-19 pandemic on top of the nation’s economic and social woes.

RELATED CONTENT: Kagame’s Push to Fight in Mozambique Runs Into Roadblock—Southern African Development Community Does not Want Rwanda’s Strongman in the Region

After Saied announced the suspension of parliament following an emergency meeting at his palace, the sounds of car horns and fireworks filled the central Habib Bourguiba Avenue — the epicenter of the 2011 revolution. The president also joined the protesters in the street, state television images showed.

However, the extent of backing for Saied’s moves against a fragile government of Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and the divided parliament was not clear, as Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi also urged Tunisians to come into the streets to block what he described as “a coup against the revolution and constitution.”

“We consider the institutions still standing, and the supporters of the Ennahda and the Tunisian people will defend the revolution,” Ghannouchi said, raising the prospect of confrontations between supporters of Ennahda and Saied.

After calling for people to take to the streets, Ghannouchi vowed that the parliament would meet in defiance of the president’s move.

Meanwhile, military vehicles surrounded the parliament building as people nearby cheered and sang the national anthem.

The parliament speaker led a sit-in protest in front of the legislature after the army blocked him from entering his office. He had tried to gain access to his legislative office from 3:00 am local time, hours after Saied suspended it.

Local media reported that the army had surrounded the state television building as well.

Police also used teargas to disperse protesters that attempted to storm the Ennahda headquarters in Tunis late on Sunday.

RELATED CONTENT: The Syria Deception: The Public Has Been Hoodwinked Yet Again into Supporting a Criminal War of Aggression – and One That Has Been Effectively Lost

Ennahda – which was banned prior to the revolution – is currently the largest party in parliament and has consistently been a member of successive coalition governments since 2011.

Ennahda plans to hold an emergency session to assess the latest political crisis in the country, according to local media.

The leader of another party, Karama, and former president Moncef Marzouki both joined Ennahda in calling Saied’s move a coup.

“I ask the Tunisian people to pay attention to the fact that they imagine this to be the beginning of the solution. It is the beginning of slipping into an even worse situation,” Marzouki declared in a video statement.

Years of paralysis, corruption, declining state services and growing unemployment had already agitated many Tunisians on their political system before the COVID-19 pandemic smashed the economy last year and infection rates surged this summer.

The president and parliament were both elected in separate popular votes in 2019, while Prime Minister Mechichi took office last summer, replacing another short-lived government. The parliamentary election delivered a fragmented chamber in which no party held more than a quarter of the seats.

Saied, an independent without a party behind him, swore to overhaul a complex political system plagued by corruption.

Disputes over Tunisia’s constitution were intended to be settled by a constitutional court. However, seven years after the constitution was approved, the court has yet to be installed after disputes over the appointment of judges.

The president has been enmeshed in political disputes with Mechichi for over a year, as the country grapples with an economic crisis, an impending fiscal crunch and a waving response to the pandemic.

 

 

Featured image: Members of the Tunisian military prevent Assembly (parliament) speaker and Ennahda party leader Rached Ghannouchi’s motorcade from entering the parliament which they cordoned-off in the capital Tunis on July 26, 2021, following a move by the president to suspend the country’s assembly and dismiss the Prime Minister. (Photo by AFP)

(PressTV)

Don't want to be a victim of the Algorithm?

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE OUR WEEKLY DIGEST WITH ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VENEZUELA AND BEYOND

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Orinoco Tribune 2
+ posts
  • Orinoco Tribune 2
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/yullma/
    San Salvador, El Salvador.- 2021/07/30: A demonstrator runs as the United States flag goes up in flames, symbolizing US backed militarism during the massacre of students in 1975. Photo: Camilo Freedman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images.
    March 30, 2023
    Global South Solidarity Is the Key To Lifting up Central America – Not Washington’s Monroe Doctrine
  • Orinoco Tribune 2
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/yullma/
    Photo composition presenting Benjamin Netanyahu with a Israeli demonstration photo check marked on the left and a Palestinian demonstration photo in the right with an X mark. Photo: MintPress News.
    March 28, 2023
    For Israelis, Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians Is Fine, but Judicial Reform Is a Red Line
  • Orinoco Tribune 2
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/yullma/
    Clave, Monument for Slavery, by Alex da Silva, is seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Dec. 19, 2022. AP Photo/Peter Dejong.
    March 28, 2023
    Slave Trade Remembrance Day: Recognition of Europe’s Crimes Should Go Beyond Rhetoric
  • Orinoco Tribune 2
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/yullma/
    Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel during an interview with Al Mayadeen. Photo: Al Mayadeen.
    March 28, 2023
    Cuba’s Ties to Arab World: Al Mayadeen Interviews Cuba President (III)
Tags: Africa Ennahda Party Government Shutdown Moncef Marzouki North Africa parliament Tunisia

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Continue Reading

Previous Previous post:

From Stroessner to Syngenta: Paraguay’s Soy Conflicts

Next Next post:

Our Solidarity with Cuba on Moncada Day Must Include our ‘Moncada Assault’ on the Mainstream Media

Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter

We keep your data private and share your data only with third parties that make this service possible. Read our Privacy Policy.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

NEWS: Most Viewed 72 Hours

Calendar

March 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Feb    

Categories

OPINION: Most Viewed 72 hours

We are on Telegram


Receive our news directly in your cellphone or PC, join us on our TELEGRAM channel: https://t.me/OrinocoTribune1

 

Download TELEGRAM, click the link above and then press the JOIN button.

We are on Discord


Now we are also on Discord you will be able to follow our every move and interact with our team.

Join us by clicking here



All our work is free to use and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

We are on Reddit

If you are more into REDDIT, join our Orinoco Tribune Community.

 

Just click below and then click JOIN
https://www.reddit.com/r/OrinocoTribune/

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
  • Discord
Copyleft, No rights reserved.

Support us, DONATE NOW!