Tunisia: ex-president calls for Saied’s dismissal and prosecution

Tunisia’s former President, Moncef Marzouki, has called for the dismissal and prosecution of President Kais Saied before holding presidential and legislative elections. He made his comment during a live Facebook speech on Tuesday.

“Saied’s talk about setting transitional provisions means cancelling the constitution, which means heading for the enactment of custom-made laws,” said Marzouki. “As soon as these laws are issued, he [Saied] will control our fate, and this will be an explicit acknowledgment of the death of the constitution.”

Saied announced on Monday the continuation of the exceptional measures that he introduced in July. “Transitional provisions have been put in place,” he added during his unannounced visit to the governorate of Sidi Bouzid. He described protests against the measures as “theatrical”.

Nevertheless, Marzouki reiterated his belief that, “Saied is a coup president and can only be described as that, and his legitimacy is eroded and will end.” Dismissing and prosecuting him, along with everyone else who has contributed to the tragedy of Tunisia is, he said, “a serious probability.”

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Addressing Saied’s supporters, the former president said: “I understand your anger against the old regime, and I share this anger with you, and I also believe that the leadership of Ennahda in alliance with corruption parties was a major disaster. However, you should know that this does not negate that the medicine itself was a disease, and that this man [Saied] is all talk, and will take us all down to the abyss. You must stop supporting him.”

In a hard-hitting speech, Marzouki also called on the security, military, judicial and media institutions in Tunisia to work to stop what he described as a “farce”. He suggested that MPs should meet in any way possible, even though parliament has been suspended by Saied. The Speaker of Parliament, Rached Ghannouchi, “must submit his resignation” so that MPs can elect someone to replace him. In conclusion, he insisted that, “Saied has become an imminent danger and must be stopped.”