Tunisia parties tried to get US to condemn president’s actions as ‘coup’

Political sources have revealed that two MPs from Ennahda and Heart of Tunisia blocs tried to exert pressure on a US Congressional delegation to obtain an official stand condemning the “President’s coup.”

“Massive amounts of money were spent in order to draw out one statement from the representatives of the US Congress, which is ‘what happened is a coup’, but they could not,” former Minister Hatem Al-Ashi wrote on Facebook.

“The US administration responds to the pulse of the people and not to those who pay more to lobbying forces, with the exception of some well-known countries, and Tunisia is not included of course,” he continued, adding that the ministers involved should step down.

Ennahda leader and Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi came under further criticism after he delegated deputies Fathi Al-Ayadi and Ossama Khlifi to represent him at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference. There, Khlifi called on the IPU to “support the Tunisian Parliament, by endorsing the democratic process in the country, and form a parliamentary delegation to visit Tunisia and learn about the conditions of the elected assembly and its deputies as soon as possible, and exert pressure [on President Kais Saied] to return to the constitutional course.”

The Tunisian MP’s intervention sparked a wave of condemnation, which prompted constitutional expert Rabeh Al-Kharaifi to call on the Public Prosecution to launch an investigation involving Ghannouchi, Ayadi, and Khlifi on charges of “violating laws and seeking foreign intervention in the county.”

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.

READ: Is Tunisia’s president putting the cart before the horse?