Tunisia president accused of staging coup after suspending parliament | Tunisia

“We have been relieved of them,” said Lamia Meftahi, a woman joining in the celebrations.

“This is the happiest moment since the revolution.”

The mood on Tunis’ streets following Saied’s announcement was one of both relief and patriotism, with the national anthem sung loudly across the city, but the extent of Saied’s popular support – and what comes next – is unclear.

The country’s small army, which is widely seen as being outside of politics, was met with an almost rapturous reception by protesters when it deployed overnight, even as soldiers surrounded parliament and blocked the parliamentary speaker, Rached Ghannouchi of Ennahda, from entering the building.

On Monday, Al Jazeera reported that its bureau in Tunis had been raided by security forces and all its journalists expelled from the premises.

Saied’s potentially destabilising moves come as Tunisians’ anger at one of Africa’s worst virus outbreaks and the fractious political class’s inability to tackle the county’s chronic economic problems has finally boiled over: thousands of people defied Covid-19 restrictions and summer heat in demonstrations which sparked clashes with security forces in cities across the country on Sunday.

More than 18,000 people in the country of 12 million have died of coronavirus since the pandemic began, overwhelming crumbling public health services and crippling the tourism industry, which makes up 16% of Tunisia’s GDP, for two years in a row.

Dozens of arrests were made as protesters called for the dissolution of parliament and early elections, in demonstrations organised by a new group called the 25 July Movement. Police used teargas to disperse crowds as people threw stones and tried to storm Ennahda’s offices in several towns. In Tozeur, the party’s local headquarters was set on fire.

While support for the president’s decision also dominated social media, the legality of the move remains uncertain. A constitutional professor by training, Saied has claimed that he is acting within the law.

Observers, however, are already warning that the decision to invoke article 80 of the constitution, which allows the president to take “exceptional measures in the event of imminent danger threatening the institutions of the nation”, effectively translates to total executive power for an unspecified period of time. As well as sacking the prime minister, Hichem Mechichi, and suspending parliament for 30 days, the immunity of MPs has been lifted.

“This isn’t just about Ennahda, it’s about the political system and all the parties. Kais Saied has said that he is against representative democracy, like we see in Europe, (relying on parties). He has an idea for a different kind of democracy,” said activist Henda Chennaoui.

The president’s longstanding vision has been for a democracy free from party affiliations with delegates appointed on the basis of local merit, who would then appoint the layers above them.

Chennaoui added: “He has built alliances within the army and the ministry of interior. He knows people are tired. He got the support he expected. This is about the whole political system… It’s failed. It’s been 10 years and it’s failed.”

Ghannouchi of Ennahda was among several lawmakers who insisted the parliament would continue to work despite the president’s move, holding an emergency session on Monday which could be conducted online if necessary.

In a military-style televised address on Sunday evening, Saied cited concerns about violence as the reason for his decision to suspend parliament, and warned opponents not to resort to violence.

“We have taken these decisions … until social peace returns to Tunisia and until we save the state,” he said. “I warn any who think of resorting to weapons… and whoever shoots a bullet, the armed forces will respond with bullets.”

Ghannouchi said the president didn’t consult with him and the prime minister as required by the article, calling it a coup and “assault on democracy”.

Ghannouci and prime minister Mechichi, an independent aligned with the Islamist party, have been locked in an acrimonious political stalemate with Saied since 2019, when the president was elected.

The infighting has stalled important ministerial appointments and diverted time and resources away from tackling Tunisia’s pressing socioeconomic problems.

Saied had previously threatened to dissolve parliament and sack the prime minister as a way to break through successive political impasses and overhaul a complex political system plagued by corruption.

In the decade since Ben Ali was deposed, Tunisia has had nine governments. The most recent election delivered a fragmented chamber, in which no party held more than a quarter of seats.

Tunisia’s mishandling of the pandemic has served as a lightning rod for long-standing popular discontent with parliamentary politics. As the economy has continued to slump and unemployment stagnated, Tunisia’s politicians have come to be seen as more interested in gamesmanship and political theatre than providing solutions for a country desperate for respite.

In a Facebook video calling for political dialogue, former president Moncef Marzouki said: “We made a huge leap backward tonight, we are back to dictatorship.”

News agencies contributed to this report