Tunisia’s democracy important for stability, Turkey president insists

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday stressed the importance of respecting the rule of law, and guaranteeing freedom, during a call with his Tunisian counterpart Kais Saied, Turkish diplomatic sources reported.

Erdogan told Saied that stability, peace, and serenity in Tunisia are important and benefit the whole region, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Erdogan emphasized that it is important for both Tunisian and regional democracy that the activities of the Tunisian parliament continue despite recent challenges.

On 25 June Saied dismissed the government of Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, froze parliament, and assumed executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister.

Saied insists that his exceptional measures are meant to “save” the country, while his critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup.

Tunisia has been seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among a group of Arab countries that witnessed popular revolutions in the early 2010s that toppled their ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

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