On the 22nd September 2021, Tunisian president Kais Saied reinforced his one-man rule following the already consequential decisions taken on July 25. Amongst the measures published in the Official Journal are the following:
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- The parliament, already frozen, will see its members prevented from receiving their salaries while continuing to be stripped of their immunity.
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- The 2014 constitution is suspended, while only its preamble, general principles and dispositions related to rights and freedoms are maintained.
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- The president will rule by decree, controlling both the legislative and executive branches.
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- The court for monitoring the constitutionality of legislations is suppressed.
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- The president is responsible for the legislative reforms to the political system, with the help of a commission appointed by him.
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- These dispositions are non-challengeable before courts.
BIC’s North Africa analyst Yasmine Akrimi noted that
“Although acting on behalf of popular demands for anti-corruption and political accountability, these measures and the absence of counter-powers put Tunisia’s fragile democratic institutions at dire risk. There is no guarantee Kais Saied’s project is implementable, nor democracy will be preserved.”
The BIC will continue to closely follow the situation in Tunisia as it unfolds.