Tunisia's Ennahda ready for radical review of its policies to save democracy

Tunisia’s Ennahda Party is ready to open a radical review of its policies in order to save the country’s democractic process, former Parliament Speaker, Rached Ghannouchi, announced yesterday.

The movement’s website quoted Ghannouchi as saying that his party had received the people’s message,” adding that it would “courageously engage in self-criticism.”

“The best solution in Tunisia is through dialogue only,” he stressed, warning against what he described as “Arab channels demonising Tunisian democracy and clearly interfering in order to destroy the Tunisian Spring.”

This comes weeks after 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.

His actions followed violent protests which 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.

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