Tunisia is set to hold a referendum next week on a new constitution. But critics fear President Kais Saied will use the constitution to return Tunisia to autocracy.
Stalemate Between Tunisia’s Prime Minister, President Continues With No End in Sight Tara Kavaler
As political elite engages in brinkmanship, concerns for democracy grow
President Kais Saied and Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi continue to fight over whether the president or parliament will dominate the governance of Tunisia’s young democracy.
Citing corruption, Saied has declined to swear in 11 of Mechichi’s cabinet minister picks approved by the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, Tunisia’s parliament.
Under Tunisia’s constitution, the president has the power to pick the heads of the foreign and defense ministries, while the remaining cabinet members are the responsibility of the prime minister.