Tunisia: President extends suspension of parliament
August 24, 2021
Tunisian President Kais Saied has extended the suspension of parliament, raising concerns in some quarters about the future of democracy in the country.
President Kais Saied said his intervention was needed to save Tunisia from collapse
Image: Tunisian Presidential Image/AA/picture alliance
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Tunisia's President Kais Saied has extended the suspension of the nation's parliament until further notice, his office said in a statement on Monday. The president also extended the suspension of the immunity of lawmakers.
Saied had dismissed Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and suspended the legislature last month, saying he would assume executive authority in the country.
He said his intervention was needed to save Tunisia from collapse following mass protests over the government's handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
Saied is yet to make good on his pledge to appoint a new prime minister. He has also not provided a roadmap to restore parliament as Western allies have demanded.
Saied will address the nation in the coming days, the presidency said.
How much support does Saied have?
It is unclear how much support Saied exactly enjoys, but growing anger among the public against the biggest party in parliament, the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, has lent itself to the escalating political crisis in the country.
After Saied dismissed the prime minister last month, crowds flooded the streets in the capital and other cities, cheering and honking car horns, in scenes reminiscent of the Arab Spring of 2011.
Tunisia analyst Mariam Salehi speaks to DW
04:21
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The leader of the Ennahda party, Rached Ghannouchi, called on Tunisians to come on to the streets to stop what he called a coup.
Tunisians are angry about soaring COVID infection and death rates, and its dire economic consequences. They were already angry about declining state services and high unemployment even before the pandemic struck.
Though Saied's decision to suspend parliament appears to enjoy widespread support, his moves have raised concerns in some quarters about the future of the democratic system Tunisia adopted after its revolution in 2011.
Tunisia grapples with COVID-19
The coronavirus crisis continues to worsen in Tunisia, with the number of infections rising. Cases of the particularly infectious delta variant have also been registered, and some regions have been sealed off.
Image: Yassine Gaidi/AApicture alliance
Infections on the rise
Tunisia is seeing more coronavirus cases — last week, between 3,500 and 4,000 new infections were reported daily. Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi also contracted the virus in a country with little testing, and where many hospitals are overwhelmed by the many COVID-19 patients.
Image: Jdidi Wassim/SOPA Images/picture alliance
Curfews and lockdowns
A night-time curfew has been in place nationwide since October 2020. Depending on the incidence rate, the government has also imposed lockdowns for cities and regions, sealing them off from the outside world, like in the northeastern city of Manouba (photo). Beja, Silyana, Zaghouan and Kairouan report the highest incidence rates.
Image: Yassine Gaidi/AA/picture alliance
Lockdown in Kairouan
Kairouan is located about 150 kilometers southwest of the capital, Tunis. With well over 400 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, the city of about 120,000 inhabitants has one of the country's highest infection rates at present. The square in front of the mosque is normally crowded and bustling with activity. But Kairouan is currently sealed off and looks more like a ghost town.
Image: Yassine Gaidi/AApicture alliance
Ambulances everywhere
Only a few street vendors and stores selling necessary goods remain open. Ambulances are omnipresent, transporting COVID-19 patients to various hospitals in Kairouan.
Image: Yassine Gaidi/AApicture alliance
Makeshift COVID-19 wards
Kairouan has grappled with high infection levels for weeks. The hospitals in the city have been overwhelmed, and special COVID-19 wards were not readily available everywhere. In the meantime, such units have been set up to make sure coronvirus patients are kept far away from regular patients.
Image: Yassine Gaidi/AApicture alliance
Shortage of staff
Thinning medical personnel: Some doctors and members of the already scarce nursing staff have also become infected with the virus. Some patients have to be supplied with oxygen until a hospital bed can be found for them in another city.
Image: Yassine Gaidi/AApicture alliance
Death rate up
At present, 8 to 10 people die of COVID-19 every day in Kairouan. According to official figures, almost 15,000 people have died in Tunisia since the beginning of the pandemic.
Image: Yassine Gaidi/AApicture alliance
Delta variant spreads
Doctors and nurses work round the clock. The Health Ministry, which urges the population to comply with coronavirus measures, said 18 people have been identified so far as having contracted the more contagious COVID-19 delta variant. Seven of them, including children, live in Kairouan, according to a ministry statement.
Image: Yassine Gaidi/AApicture alliance
Slow vaccination campaign
The vaccination campaign in Tunisia is making slow progress. Fewer than 1.8 million of the country's about 11.5 million inhabitants have been vaccinated so far; only about 500,000 of them have received full vaccination protection, according to the Tunisian Health Ministry. It looks doubtful, however, that the country will manage to vaccinate half the population this year as planned.
Several politicians, businesspeople and judges — who lost their immunity after Saied suspended the legislature — said they had been banned from traveling abroad or put under house arrest without warning.
Their claims have sparked a chorus of condemnation, with critics denouncing "arbitrary" and "unjustified" measures.
Saied, who vowed to stand up against corruption, was elected as president in a landslide victory in 2019.
