Tunisia: Ennahda MP appeals against president’s decision to suspend parliament

Ennahda Member of Parliament, Farida Al-Obeidi has submitted two petitions to the Administrative Court in order to override the president’s decision to suspend parliament.

The MP said yesterday that the first petition aims to override Presidential Order No. 80 related to suspending the powers of Parliament, and that the second relates to stopping the implementation of the order.

Al-Obaidi wrote on Facebook that she took the action as a result of her “belief in the principle of separation of powers and balance between them, the supremacy of law, respect for freedoms, human rights, independence of the judiciary, equality of rights and duties between all male and female citizens before the law, and because the legal profession is a free and independent profession that participates in the establishment of justice and defence.”

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.

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.

Is Tunisia slipping into a dangerous pitfall?- Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

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