-
Tunisia Turmoil is Not a Coup on Islamists
In the past decade alone, Tunisia has gone through several extreme political transitions; three of which stands out as the most decisive turning points. They are: the Arab Spring revolution against Ben Ali’s authoritarian regime, in 2011; the step-down of the Islamist-led government, in response to massive popular protests, in 2013; and the sudden death of President Beji Caid Essebsi, amidst an economic depression, in 2019. Astonishingly, the Tunisian state managed to survive all of these major political transitions. These days, some pessimistic expectations of state failure in Tunisia are circulating among political analysts, following the radical decisions that the Tunisian President Kais Saied took, on the Republic Day anniversary, a few days ago.
In a surprise move, on the night of July 25th, Saied, who worked for decades as professor of law and constitution, used the powers given to him by Article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution to grab all state civilian and military powers in his own hands. Saied justified the motion by the need to control the risks aroused by the massive angry protests that erupted all over Tunisia on that day against the failures of the government and the parliament in running state affairs and recovering the depressed economy. Understanding what motivated Saied to launch this ruthless war against the government and the parliament of his own regime, is key to envisioning whether Tunisia is going to survive this major transition, too.
As a first step, Saied decided to suspend the two parallel authorities governing the country shoulder-to-shoulder with him. He fired the Prime Minister and froze the Parliament because he could not dissolve it. The Tunisian Parliament is dominated by the Islamist Ennahda Party. Then, he dismissed the ministers of defense, interior, and justice. At the moment, a curfew is announced and all businesses, expect security, health, and educational facilities, are closed.
Pro-Islamist propagandists, on social and traditional media platforms, came out immediately claiming that Saied’s decisions are “a coup d’état” and are directly targeting to finish the Islamists. They even tried to compare what is currently happening in Tunisia to what happened in Egypt in June 2013, when the military had to respond to popular protests to remove the Muslim Brotherhood regime from power.
Actually, a primary school student can tell how ridiculous this comparison is. Let alone, downsizing the whole scene to an ideological dispute between Kais Saied and the Islamists of Ennahda Party is nothing but an act of naivety, that is purposefully disregarding the pleas of the Tunisian people to end their economic sufferings through a political reform.
In other words, Saied’s fight is not against Islamists, but for political and economic reform. Saied’s decision to freeze the Islamist-dominated parliament must be seen within the bigger picture of the paralyzing system of governance in Tunisia, and through a political, not ideological, lens.
Out of fear of falling back into the authoritarianism of the deep state, the post-revolution constitution in Tunisia tailored a system of governance that is neither presidential nor parliamentarian. Rather, it is based on balancing the decision-making process between three authorities – or “presidencies” as the Tunisians call them. They are: the President of the State, the Prime Minister (the head of the government), and the Speaker of Parliament (the head of the legislative authority).
In theory, the “three presidencies” may look like an innovative democratic system that involves all and excludes none. But, in practice, it has proven to be a difficult and paralyzing system. For three years, since Kais Saied was elected, Tunisia could not achieve any tangible progress under three presidents, whose agendas and visions are inconsistent. The conflict between the three governing authorities in Tunisia reached a climax point in mid-March, in a way that paralyzed political decision-making and economic flow in the country, and eventually aroused nation-wide protests calling for reform.
That being said, can the already-exhausted Tunisia survive the current turmoil, as it survived all the major previous political transitions that took place in the past ten years? That is a difficult question to answer, while the proceedings of the turmoil are still unfolding. However, we can at least understand that the problem of Tunisia is much bigger and much deeper than having members of the Muslim Brotherhood in power.
BY: Dalia Ziada
Tags
You May Also Like
Popular Posts
Caricature
NATO Secretary-General Ex...
- November 7, 2024
Amid growing anxiety among several European countries participating in NATO over Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated he looks forward to sitting down with Trump.
Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.
Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.
On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.
It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.
Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.
Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
opinion
Report
ads
Newsletter
Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates!