U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed the importance of the early legislative elections in Tunisia, called for this Sunday, being «free and fair», while calling for the «protection of fundamental freedoms», amid opposition complaints about the authoritarian drift of the president, Kais Saied.
Blinken, who met with Saied in the framework of the U.S.-Africa summit being held in Washington, stressed that bilateral relations «are stronger when there is a shared commitment to democracy and human rights», before calling for «inclusive reforms to strengthen democratic balances of power».
«Blinken reiterated the deep commitment of the United States to Tunisia’s democracy and to supporting the aspirations of the Tunisian people for a democratic and prosperous future,» the State Department said in a statement, in which it showed Washington’s «strong support» for Tunisia «in the face of the current economic crisis, exacerbated by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.»
For his part, Saied thanked Washington for its support for Tunisia and justified the actions taken on his part since July 25, 2021, when he arrogated to himself all powers after dissolving the government and suspending the Parliament, subsequently dissolved. Thus, he said that his actions were caused by «a crisis marked by the inaction and indifference of the Government and Parliament then in place».
Thus, the Tunisian leader indicated that the judicial apparatus was also affected by the crisis because of «corruption» and «political interference», while arguing that the situation threatened the outbreak of a civil war, which led him to arrogate to himself all powers. «This decision was a popular request chanted by citizens when we met,» he explained.
«I did not want to dissolve the Parliament because I wanted to respect the 2014 Constitution, which did not allow me to do so. I had no other alternative to save the nation,» he has said, referring to his decision to finally dissolve the legislature after a telematic meeting in which its members voted in favor of annulling all its exceptional decisions, Tunisian state news agency TAP has reported.
A large part of the opposition has announced its boycott of the elections, as it did with the constitutional referendum of July, which strengthened the powers of the president and reduced the weight of the Parliament. Both the constitutional modification and the legislative elections are part of the ‘road map’ announced by Saied to put an end to the crisis, although the opposition denounces that he is seeking to monopolize the power of the State.
