Tunisia : Why The Political Impasse?

When President Kais Saied came to power on October, 23, 2019 as an independent candidate after scoring a landslide victory in a highly contested free and fair elections, many were of the opinion that the renowned law Professor is commensurate to the task. Despite not belonging to any political party, he has succeeded in steering the country towards the right direction. Though the journey has not been smooth due to the successive changed of Prime Ministers and Governments and the obstruction of several of his draft bills, and other reforms at the level of the National Assembly where the different political parties like the Ennahda and Qalb Tounes have been working for their personal rather than national interest, President Kais Saied has heard the cries of the common man and decided to take the bull by the horn.
A few weeks ago (25 July), he ousted Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, some members of his government like, the minister of defense, justice and communication, froze the activities of parliament and assume executive authority. According to the President, the decision to suspend parliament for 30 days, which can be extended if needed “until the situation settles down”, is based on Article 80 in the country’s constitution, which allows the president to take extraordinary measures if there is “imminent danger threatening the nation”. Though some opponents like, Rached Ghannouchi, who heads Parliament’s biggest party, Ennahdha, accused President Saied of launching “a coup against the revolution and constitution”, others believe the president was placing a bet on the country's future. “Things are better. Kais Saied is very good, he’s rounding up all the thieves,” Abdelhamid Riahi, a market vendor, told Euronews. The thieves” Abdelhamid refers to are members of Tunisia’s political eli...