Ennahda member urges state institutions to reject president’s move to oust gov’t

By Adel Thabeti

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – The political adviser of Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi on Monday called on state institutions to reject implementing decisions taken by the country’s president to oust the government and suspend parliament.

On Sunday, President Kais Saied dismissed the government, froze parliament and assumed the executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister.

"We call upon the state institutions not to implement the wrong decisions," Riadh Chaibi told Anadolu Agency.

"Ennahda Party holds Saied responsible for all the violations that may affect individuals and institutions as a result of his decisions," Chaibi said.

In his Sunday’s speech, Saied said he will suspend the immunity of all members of parliament and take control of the general prosecutor’s office. He claimed that he has taken the decisions after consulting Ghannouchi and Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi.

Ghannouchi, the speaker of the Tunisian parliament, described Saied's moves as nothing but a "full-fledged coup" against the Tunisian constitution, revolution, and freedoms in the country.

Tunisia has been gripped by a deep crisis since Jan. 16, when Mechichi announced a cabinet reshuffle but Saied refused to hold a ceremony to swear in the new ministers. Tunisia also faces an unprecedented spread of the 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 toppled the ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara