On July 23, 2021, the president of Tunisia, Kais Saied, announced the suspension of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People (Tunisia’s parliament) and fired Prime Minister Hicham Mechichi and the cabinet. President Kais’s decision came one day after protesters clashed with security forces over how the Tunisian government and the Islamist Ennahda party leading the parliament had handled the health care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic and the deterioration of the economic situation in the country.
President Kais stated that he had based his actions on article 80 of the 2014 Tunisian Constitution. According to this article, in cases of imminent danger threatening the nation’s institutions, security, or independence and hampering the normal functioning of the state, the president of the republic may take any necessary measures to stop such danger after consulting with the head of the government and the speaker of the parliament and informing the president of the Constitutional Court. The article also requires the president to announce the measures in a statement to the people. In addition, the article provides that
[t]he measures shall guarantee, as soon as possible, a return to the normal functioning of state institutions and services. The Assembly of the Representatives of the People shall be deemed to be in a state of continuous session throughout such a period. In this situation, the President of the Republic cannot dissolve the Assembly of the Representatives of the People and a motion of censure against the government cannot be presented.
Thirty days after the entry into force of these measures, and at any time thereafter, the Speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People or thirty of the members thereof shall be entitled to apply to the Constitutional Court with a view to verifying whether or not the circumstances remain exceptional. The Court shall rule upon and publicly issue its decision within a period not exceeding fifteen days.
These measures cease to be in force as soon as the circumstances justifying their implementation no longer apply. The President of the Republic shall address a message to the people to this effect.
In a reaction to the president’s decision, the speaker of the parliament and head of Ennahda, Rached Ghannouchi, accused the president of launching “a full-fledged coup” against the 2011 revolution and Constitution. Ghannouchi added that “we consider the government’s institutions to be still standing and supporters of Ennahda and the Tunisian people will defend the revolution.”
President Said’s decision has divided the country. Of those who endorsed the president’s decision, reportedly hundreds took to the streets on foot and in vehicles cheering the suspension of the parliament and chanting “Tahya Tounes” or “Viva Tunisia.” The largest labor union in the country, the Tunisian General Labor Union, also endorsed the president’s decision, with the union’s general secretary, Nouredine Tabboub, saying that the union was convinced there was a need for “bold decisions” to rescue Tunisia.
On the other hand, two of the main parties in the parliament, Heart of Tunisia and Karama, have joined with Ennahda in accusing President Saied of staging a coup against the legislature branch. Furthermore, a group of Tunisian lawyers, in reaction to what they perceived as Saied’s unconstitutional actions, announced on August 2 that they had established a new organization, the Lawyers for the Protection of Rights and Freedoms, “to monitor violations and abuses of individual and public rights, and to confront them by all legal and legitimate means.”