Constitution should be amended: Saied
TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied has announced plans to form a new government and said the constitution should be amended, weeks ater he sacked his premier and suspended parliament in moves his critics called a coup.
Speaking to two television channels ater a late Saturday evening stroll in central Tunis, Saied said he would form a new government “as soon as possible” ater selecting “the people with the most integrity.” But he declined to give a specific timeline.
Saied also told the television stations that “the Tunisian people rejected the constitution.” He added that such charters are “not eternal” and stated that “we can introduce amendments to the text.”
His comments, which confirmed earlier media speculations on his plans, were dismissed by the Ennahdha party, the largest bloc in parliament.
The party in a statement expressed “its categorical rejection of the atempts of some parties that are hostile to the democratic process... to push for choices that violate the rules of the constitution.”
Ennahda added that it would oppose “an intended suspension of the application of the constitution and a change to the political system, possibly through a referendum.”
The influential UGTT trade union confederation, which has so far backed Saied, also rejected any “suspension of the constitution” and called for early legislative elections so that a new parliament could look into potential constitutional changes.
Saied, a legal theorist and former law professor, was elected in 2019 and has billed himself as the ultimate interpreter of the constitution.
He invoked that power on July 25 to fire the prime minister, freeze parliament and strip MPS of their immunity, and assume all executive powers.
Saied has yet to appoint a new government or reveal a roadmap towards normalisation, despite repeated demands by political parties.
His moves have been criticised by judges and opponents, in particular Ennahdha.
But some Tunisians, exasperated by their political class and its perceived corruption, impunity and failure to improve living standards more than a decade since the country’s protests launched the Arab Spring, see them as a necessary evil.
The chants of “Dignity!” and “Work!” that filled the air during the revolution have again started to sound at demonstrations.
In images posted around midnight on the Tunisian presidency’s Facebook page, Saied was seen walking down the capital’s Bourguiba Avenue as a crowd sang the national anthem, before he stopped to speak with the TV channels.