Once Tunisia was seen as a beacon of hope for a successful political transition from dictatorship to democracy, with the start of the jasmin revolution (also known as Arab revolution) in 2011. For here the dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali left the country within four weeks after major protests broke out.
Following three years of the Tunisian revolution, a new constitution was drawn up in 2014. The negotiations between secular and Islamist parties were largely driven by Tunisian civil society. The result: A huge step towards gender equality, guaranteed religious freedom and a civil state - without any mention of Sharia law.
However, frequent changes of government, a fragmented party political landscape, widespread corruption as well as persistent economic crisis all played a part in stalling the democratic reform process. Terrorist attacs shattered the country and the Covid pandemic further aggravates the already unstable situation - living conditions have barely improved since the political changes since Arab revolution.
In 2019 the political outsider Kais Saied was elected to the president of Tunisia. His decisions are leading the country right into Autocracy:
- January 2020 – After months of failed attempts to form a government, Elyes Fakhfakh becomes prime minister but is forced out within months over a corruption scandal.
- August 2020 – Hichem Mechichi becomes prime minister. He quickly falls out with the president and his fragile government lurches from crisis to crisis as it struggles to deal with the pandemic and the need for urgent reforms.
- January 2021 – A decade on from the revolution, new protests engulf Tunisian cities in response to accusations of police violence and the devastation the COVID pandemic wrought on an already weak economy.
- July 2021 – Saied dismisses the government, suspends parliament and says he will rule alongside the new prime minister, citing an emergency section of the constitution. The move is dismissed by Ennahdha and others in parliament as a coup.
- October 2021 – Saied appoints a new government, but without seeking the parliamentary approval he needed, as stipulated by the constitution.
- February 2022 – After judicial challenges to some of his actions, Saied gives himself ultimate authority over judges, replacing the council that guarantees their independence before purging dozens of them in June. The country’s judges go on strike in protest.
- July 2022 – Saied puts a new constitution to a referendum, seeking to formalise many of the powers he has assumed over previous months and watering down the role of parliament. But political parties oppose his moves and the powerful labour union calls strikes over worsening economic conditions. According to the electoral commission controlled by the president, 95% of Tunisians voted in favour of the constitutional amendment in a referendum. However, the turnout was only about 30%.
Which powers did Saied get with the constitution of 2022?
The president is:
- controlling the parliament and the justice system
- appointing ministers and the prime minister
- is appointing and dismissing judges
- is able to introduce legal texts that take precedence over others
- can impose the state of emergency, which gives him far-reaching powers, almost unhindered.
- Despite a serious violation of the constitution on the part of the president, he can no longer be removed from office.
- With the introduction of a regional chamber, the president can override the parliament and thus weaken it.
- Islam is included in the new constitution as a state religion, and the Tunisian state aims to move towards Islam's goals.
- Independent institutions such as the national anti-corruption agency or the commission for human rights no longer appear in the new constitution.
