Ghannouchi: The end of the coup in Tunisia is imminent

The president of Tunisia’s Ennahda movement, Rached Ghannouchi, said yesterday that the end of the “coup against legitimacy” is imminent, especially after the rapprochement between all parties in the country that consider “the coup as an imminent danger.”

In a statement to reporters, Ghannouchi said: “I commend the Tunisian General Labour Union, which refused to participate in the farce of the national dialogue.”

On Saturday morning, the first session of the “national dialogue” called by President Kais Saied started in Tunisia, in preparation for holding a referendum on a new constitution on 25 July to end the political crisis in the country.

Several parties participated in the dialogue, while the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), Ennahda movement, Heart of Tunisia Party and the Democratic Current all refused to partake or were excluded.

Saied has held nearly total power since 25 July when he sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament and assumed executive authority citing a national emergency.

He appointed a prime minister on 29 September and a government has since been formed.

The majority of the country’s political parties slammed the move as a “coup against the constitution” and the achievements of the 2011 revolution. Critics say Saied’s decisions have strengthened the powers of the presidency at the expense of parliament and the government, and that he aims to transform the country’s government into a presidential system.

On more than one occasion, Saied, who began a five-year presidential term in 2019, said that his exceptional decisions are not a coup, but rather measures within the framework of the constitution to protect the state from “imminent danger”.

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