Tunisian President Kais Saied has thrown out the North African countries’ prime minister and parliament in what his opponents are calling a coup. Saied has now imposed a strict curfew after supporters and opponents of his move poured into the streets to face each other and violence threatened. The political confrontation came amid widespread frustration among Tunisians at the state of their government and the major political parties.
Tunisian leader throws out government
Tunisia has been widely regarded as a rare success story from the 2011 Arab Spring, which began in the country with the largely peaceful overthrow of a longtime president.
While the democratic government in Tunisia has outlived most of the reforms of the other Arab Spring nations, the political situation has not been as beneficial as many had hoped it might be.
The effects of the pandemic served to highlight all of the issues Tunisians had with their government, which failed to respond effectively to the crisis and the economic backlash that followed.
Kais Saied was elected in 2019 as an independent conservative promising to fight against the established political parties, a position which earned him some comparisons to Donald Trump.
Saied cited constitutional powers in his decision to throw out the prime minister and parliament, claiming that the situation was an emergency which granted him this right as president.
The leader of Ennahda, the largest political party, claimed that the move was an attack on democracy and urged his supporters to gather in the streets and protests.
Widespread support for “Trumpian” President Saied
While Ennahda enjoys proportional support as the largest party in parliament, their position also ensures that they attract much of the blame for the stagnation and failures of the government.
President Saied has widespread support among the Tunisian populace and his supporters also poured out into the streets to celebrate.
Supporters of Saied see his decision to throw out the government as a continuation of the 2011 revolution, rather than a betrayal.
He appears to have very strong support among the people, though it remains to be seen if his allegedly temporary suspension of parliament truly remains temporary.
There has been no major violence yet, despite the presence of rival factions facing off in the streets of Tunis. The strict curfew is a preemptive measure which will limit public gatherings for the next month.
Saied is a social conservative and a populist but, crucially, not aligned with Tunisian Islamists, a stance which puts him in line with Egyptian leader el-Sisi, who he has courted as an ally.
