This Wednesday, the Tunisian president decided to dissolve the Assembly of People's Representatives. A symbolic decision, eight months after Kaïs Saïed froze the activities of the same Parliament.
On July 25, Kaïs Saïed struck a blow: he decided, among other measures, to suspend the work of the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP), invoking Article 80 of the Constitution which indicates that, "in case of imminent danger threatening the institutions of the nation and the security and independence of the country and hampering the regular functioning of the public powers, the President of the Republic may take the measures required by this exceptional situation", in particular by warning the Constitutional Council . However, the latter still does not exist in Tunisia.
The freezing of the work of the Assembly had allowed Kaïs Saïed to follow up with another strong measure: by dissolving the ARP, he had in fact also announced the lifting of the immunity of all deputies. If his decisions were not included in a clear timetable, the Tunisian head of state had decided, on September 22, to extend the suspension of the work of the ARP. He also announced the suspension of salaries and benefits granted to members of the Assembly, including the president of the ARP Rached Ghannouchi.
This Wednesday, Kaïs Saïed went further: he officially announced the dissolution of the ARP. But the latter being suspended, what does the statement of the Tunisian president really mean? “This is a measure that will have no impact, summarizes an observer of Tunisian political life. It won't change anything, but Kaïs Saïed likes to make symbolic announcements at regular intervals. It was indeed during a passage on the set of national television that the president made his announcement.
MPs accused of conspiring against the state
The timing is not insignificant: the Minister of Justice had indeed ordered the opening of an investigation against several members of Parliament who are today accused of “conspiring against state security”. The immunity of the latter having already been lifted, they could in any case be prosecuted by the competent judicial authorities. One hundred and twenty deputies met by videoconference to vote on the cancellation of the exceptional measures decided by the president since July.
By announcing the dissolution of the Assembly, Kaïs Saïed began a standoff with the elected officials, and in particular continued his confrontation with the members of the Islamist party Ennahdha. The president says he wants to "preserve the state and its institutions" and "the Tunisian people". Ennahdha had, after the 2019 election, 52 of the 217 seats of the ARP. Several members of the Islamist party had participated in the virtual plenary condemning the actions of the President of the Republic. The party of Nabil Karoui, competitor of Kaïs Saïed during the second round of the presidential election, had obtained 38 seats.
It now remains to be seen what will become of the Assembly. On July 25, a referendum is scheduled in Tunisia to vote for a new Constitution. The text will then make it possible to know whether a new assembly, or even a senate will be provided for by the Constitution. Next December, general elections are to be held in Tunisia.