Tunisia investigates recordings criticising president

Prosecutors in Tunisia are investigating the authenticity of recorded conversations in which a former senior aide to President Kais Saied appears to criticise him.

The 11 recordings have been said to feature Nadia Akacha, who was Mr Saied’s chief of staff and closest adviser for about two years until she quit in January.

The woman in the recordings is heard criticising Mr Saied and staff members, in some cases, and mentions events in the presidential palace and private meetings between Mr Saied and foreign officials since July, when the president seized wide-ranging powers.

Ms Akacha, 41, a constitutional lawyer, denied that she was the woman in the recording and described them as fakes intended to undermine Mr Saied.

In January, Ms Akacha resigned over “fundamental differences in opinion” about the country’s interests. Tunisian media have reported that she has since been living in France.

She was Mr Saied’s closest aide when he came to office in 2019 and was a major organiser for his electoral campaign, liaising with local staff and grassroots volunteers across the country to push forward his candidacy.

Ms Akacha announced her resignation in on Facebook.

“I decided to resign after two years … I am faced with fundamental differences in opinion regarding [Tunisia’s] best interests and I think it is my duty to withdraw,” she said on the social media platform at the time.

On Wednesday, Mr Saied said he would form a committee to write a constitution for a “new republic” in Tunisia, which he intends to put to a referendum in July.

He launched an online consultation in January to inform people of the drafting of the new constitution. Less than 5 per cent of Tunisians responded.