Speaking after an online meeting with more than half of parliament members, the first since he ousted parliament in July, Sayed accused them of a failed coup and conspiracy against state security and ordered investigations into them. The parliamentary session and Saied’s response intensified the Tunisian political crisis, although it was unclear whether it would bring about any immediate change of government. Any attempt to arrest members of parliament who attended Wednesday’s sitting, as Saied’s threat of investigations may imply, would represent a major escalation of the confrontation between the president and his opponents. “We must protect the state from division. We will not allow the abusers to continue their aggression against the state,” Sayed said in a video posted on the Internet late Wednesday. His opponents accused him of a coup when he suspended parliament last summer, scrapped most of the 2014 constitution and moved to rule by decree as he began reforming the political system. “We are not afraid to defend a legitimate institution,” said Yamina Zoghlami, a member of parliament for the moderate Islamist Ennahda. “People did not lose confidence in us. “The president closed the parliament with a tank.” Sayed, a former law professor, says his actions are constitutional and necessary to save Tunisia from years of political paralysis and economic stagnation at the hands of a corrupt, selfish elite. He says he will form a commission to rewrite the constitution, put it to a referendum in July and then hold parliamentary elections in December. The 2014 Tunisian constitution says parliament must remain in session during any extraordinary term such as the one announced by Saied last summer, and that the dissolution of parliament should trigger new elections – although it has not yet announced . The Free Constitutional Party, an official opposition party that polls predict will be the largest in parliament if elected, urges Sayed to call early elections after parliament is dissolved. Abir Moussi, the party leader and supporter of the late tyrannical president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, said Saied had no other choice under the constitution and would have to call elections within three months. Major Western sponsors have urged Sayed to return to democracy and normal constitutional rule. Wednesday’s parliamentary session was delayed when the online meeting platforms Zoom and Teams ceased to operate in Tunisia shortly before its launch. Speaking on the radio, Independent MP Iyadh Loumi accused the government of shutting down requests to adjourn the meeting, a charge denied by the Minister of Communications Technology. Parliament’s heightened confidence reflects the growing opposition to Side as it seeks to rewrite the constitution, take control of the judiciary and impose new restrictions on civil society. Ennahda, the largest party in parliament with a quarter of the seats, and its leader, Rached Ghannouchi, who is the speaker of parliament, were his fiercest critics. Although the political parties remain deeply divided, most of them openly oppose Saied and demand that it take a comprehensive approach to restructuring Tunisian politics. Tunisia rejected authoritarian rule in a 2011 revolution and introduced democracy, but its system of power-sharing between the president and parliament has proved unpopular. Saied, a young politician, was elected in 2019 in a landslide victory in the second round against a media mogul facing corruption charges and promised to clean up Tunisian politics. As the economy wreaks havoc, with the government seeking an international bailout and a strong trade union warning of a general strike, many Tunisians have been disappointed by its focus on constitutional change.
