Ennahda renews rejection of Tunisia presidency's attempts to ‘dominate’ authorities

The Tunisian Ennahda movement on Friday renewed its rejection of the presidency’s attempts to “dominate” the executive, legislative and judicial authorities.

The movement announced in a statement that the Presidency of the Republic: “Is trying to undermine the foundations of the democratic-republican system based on the separation and balance of powers and their cooperation to ensure the unity of the state and society, protect democracy and rights, and establish justice and equality.”

Ennahda (53 deputies out of 217 in Parliament) warned of: “The danger of repeated presidential attempts to pressure the judiciary and its institutions, especially the Supreme Judicial Council.”

The movement stressed that: “Judicial reform is a path promoted by judicial institutions and supported by the legislative authority through laws and the executive authority by providing the requirements and conditions and respecting the independence of the judiciary, not by attempts to interfere in its work to subjugate or instrumentalise it.”

READ: Tunisia Ennahda party calls to end ‘exceptional measures’

Ennahda expressed its: “Rejection of the policy of pressure placed on those with dissenting opinions and the employment of some amendment bodies to restrict freedom of expression, including the closure of some media institutions such as Nessma TV and Al-Zaytouna TV and the threat of Hannibal TV, which refers a large number of journalists, technicians, and workers to unemployment, instead of settling their positions under the umbrella of respect for the law and freedom of the media.”

Since 25 July, Tunisia has been experiencing a severe political crisis, when President Saied took “exceptional measures”, including freezing the competencies of Parliament, lifting the immunity of its deputies, abolishing the constitutionality monitoring body, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, chairing the Public Prosecution and dismissing the prime minister.

The majority of political forces in Tunisia reject these decisions and consider them a “coup against the constitution”, while other forces support them and see them as a “correction of the course of the 2011 revolution”, which overthrew the regime of late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1987-2011).

Is Tunisia’s president Kais Saied like Louis XIV, King of France? – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]