Tunisia party slams attempt to force judiciary to act according to president's will

Tunisia’s Superior Council of the Judiciary is under attack with attempts being made to force it to follow the will of President Kais Saied, the Republican Party said yesterday.

“The Superior Council of the Judiciary is under vicious attack, and an attempt to subjugate it to the will of the President of the Republic,” the party said, calling for coordinated efforts to fight and win the “battle of the independence of the judiciary.”

In a statement the party said: “President [Saied] seeks to take over all the powers and to abolish the role of regulatory bodies to cover his complete failure in dealing with the urgent issues of Tunisians, primarily the economic and financial crisis that threatens the state with bankruptcy and collapse.”

“We appreciate the steadfastness of the Superior Council of the Judiciary in its battle to defend its independence and adherence to the constitutional structure of the judiciary,” it continued.

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The Republican Party condemned what it called “intrusion of the military judiciary and exploiting it to target civilians and opponents of the coup.”

Tunisia has witnessed a serious political crisis since 25 July, when Saied imposed “exceptional” measures, including suspending parliament, issuing legislation by presidential decree, dismissing the prime minister and appointing a new government.

The majority of the political and popular forces reject the measures and consider Saied’s actions a “coup against the constitution”.