Tunisia's President indicates he will amend constitution

Speaking live on television in a central Tunis boulevard, Mr. Saied said he respected the 2014 democratic constitution but that it was not eternal and could be amended

September 12, 2021 09:20 am | Updated 09:20 am IST - TUNIS

Tunisian President Kais Saied. File

Tunisian President Kais Saied. File

Tunisia's President Kais Saied on September 11 indicated he was preparing to change the country's constitution, but said he would only do so using existing constitutional means, seven weeks after he seized powers in moves his foes called a coup.

Speaking live on television in a central Tunis boulevard, Mr. Saied said he respected the 2014 democratic constitution but that it was not eternal and could be amended.

"Amendments must be made within the framework of theconstitution," he told the Sky News Arabia channel and Tunisian state television.

One of Saied's advisers told Reuters on September 8 that the President was planning to suspend the constitution and offer an amended version via a referendum, prompting opposition from political parties and the country's powerful main labour union.

Anxiety has been growing, both internally and among Western democracies that have supported Tunisia's public finances, over Mr. Saied's intentions since his July 25 announcement that he was sacking the Prime Minister and suspending parliament.

The former constitutional law professor justified those moves by citing emergency measures in the constitution that his critics and many legal scholars said did not support his intervention.

Though he indefinitely extended the measures after a month, he has yet to appoint a new government or make any clear declaration of his long-term intentions, as Tunisia struggles to confront a rolling economic crisis.

His intervention drew widespread support after years of political paralysis, but it has thrust Tunisia into crisis a decade after it threw off autocracy and embraced democracy in the revolution that triggered the Arab Spring.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.