Tunisian President Kais Saied announced the dissolution of parliament on Wednesday. He does so eight months after suspending the work of parliament.
The dissolution was the result of a meeting of MPs whose work had already been suspended last year. Saied said the meeting was “a failed coup attempt” and a “plot against the security of the state.”
The president then proceeded to dissolve parliament “to protect the state and its institutions.”
Saied fired Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi in July last year and suspended the work of parliament, initially for 30 days. He also lifted the parliamentary immunity of MPs.
He later extended the measures, despite large-scale protests in the country. His opponents called the actions a coup, but Saied invoked the constitution. More recently, he has also pushed for a reform of the judiciary.
Saied has received quite a lot of popular support so far, but resistance has been growing lately. Ten days ago, thousands of opponents demonstrated. Experts fear that civil protests will damage stability in the country.
Tunisia is the only country to experience the transition to democracy in the wake of the Arab Spring in 2011. However, the country continues to struggle with an economic crisis, a high unemployment rate and widespread corruption.
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