Tunisia president says ‘certain parties’ want to infiltrate interior ministry

Tunisian President Kais Saied yesterday said that “certain parties” are working to infiltrate “the state, and the Ministry of the Interior in particular”.

A presidential statement said Saied visited the ministry yesterday for the first time after commissioning Reda Gharslawi to run it last Thursday.

“The great danger that threatens countries does not come from abroad, but rather is caused by the fragmentation of society and [internal] fighting … There are those who deliberately disintegrated the state,” the statement quoted Saied as saying.

“There are those who want to infiltrate the state institutions, and the Ministry of Interior in particular,” he said, adding that “any attempt to harm the Ministry of Interior or strike it from within will be met with more than they expect.”

The president did not say who wants to infiltrate the state or ministry.

On 25 July, Tunisian President Kais Saied cited Article 80 of the constitution to dismiss Prime Minister Hicham Mechichi, freeze the work of parliament for 30 days, lift the immunity of ministers, and appoint himself as head of the executive authority until the formation of a new government.

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This comes after violent protests broke out in several Tunisian cities criticising the government’s handling of the economy and the coronavirus. Demonstrators had called for parliament to be dissolved.

The majority of the country’s political parties slammed the move as a “coup against the constitution” and the achievements of the 2011 revolution.