Tunisian police stand guard outside the parliament in Tunis on July 27, 2021. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)
TUNIS, Tunisia (AFP) Opponents of Tunisia’s President Kais Saied, who sparked a crisis by suspending parliament and sacking the premier, said Tuesday they were ready for early elections while warning against an “autocratic regime.”
The moderate Islamist Ennahdha party, which was the strongest group in the coalition government, has labeled Sunday’s power grab a “coup d’etat” while the US, EU and other powers have also voiced strong concern.
Ennahdha on Tuesday said that, “for the sake of the democratic path,” it is “ready to go to early legislative and presidential elections” while warning “that any delay is not used as a pretext to maintain an autocratic regime.”
Supporters cheer outside the army-barricaded parliament building in the capital Tunis on July 26, 2021, after the president dismissed the prime minister and ordered parliament closed for 30 days (YASSINE MAHJOUB / AFP)
WASHINGTON US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday spoke by phone with Tunisian President Kais Saied to urge respect for democracy after he sacked the government.
In his call, the top US diplomat urged Saied to “maintain open dialogue with all political actors and the Tunisian people,” the State Department said in a statement.
“He encouraged President Saied to adhere to the principles of democracy and human rights that are the basis of governance in Tunisia,” it said.