Tunisia’s President Saied says national dialogue would exclude ‘thieves and traitors’
Tunisian President Kais Saied has promised a “fair and sincere” national dialogue on the country’s political and electoral system.
This would be a means of leading the country out of the political crisis that prompted him to suspend Parliament and sack the government in July.
The discussions would include youth, Mr Saied said at a Cabinet meeting of the newly installed government on Thursday.
He did not say how young people would be chosen or what their role would be.
The president also said he would exclude those who “stole the people’s money, and traitors”.
The suggestion that some of Tunisia’s main political groups, including Ennahda, the largest party in Parliament and one of Mr Saied’s main rivals, might be excluded cast doubt on whether the process will be as inclusive as civil society groups, political parties and many of the country’s foreign allies have demanded.
On Thursday, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tunisia that called for “a return to full-fledged democracy and the resumption of parliamentary activity as soon as possible as part of a national dialogue, and for a clear road map to be announced”.
Mr Saied’s slow pace out of the situation has had financial consequences.
The US Senate appropriations committee recently restructured its assistance to Tunisia in its fiscal year 2022 budget, saying it had concerns about the health of Tunisian democracy.
The funding, largely spent on military and security sectors, will now be conditional and require a report on the military’s role in the country’s “democratic backsliding” before a decision is made.
Opposition parties have formed a coalition to put pressure on Mr Saied.
Calling itself the Co-ordination of Democratic Forces, the group, made up of delegates from four parties, last week met the head of Tunisia’s influential labour union, the UGTT.
A statement after the meeting spoke of “the need for a rapid return to the democratic system, as part of an inclusive process that ensures the conditions for political stability”.
“The objective is to address the economic and social difficulties facing the country,” it said.
The UGTT was one of four civil society groups that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 for their role in leading Tunisia out of a post-revolution political crisis in 2013.
Mr Saied has long resisted talking with those groups.He casts himself as a leader “for the people” and prefers to consult with loyalists.
Calls for national dialogue began last November after a breakdown in Parliament and conflicts between the executive and legislative branches, but Mr Saied refused to join.
A meeting of the Tunisian Cabinet heard that young people would be asked to take part in the country’s national dialogue