Tunisia: Ex-President Moncef Marzouki urges army to topple incumbent Kais Saied

Moncef Marzouki, a Tunisian former President, in exile in France, has called on the army to remove incumbent President Kais Saied and to restore power the people.

In an interview with Doha-based al Jazeera, Marzouki stressed that the army’s responsibility is determined by the preservation of the homeland, and not by the person of Saied.

“I reject the power of the army, but I assume it is the duty of the leaders of this institution to overthrow this illegitimate president and hand over power to civilians,” he stressed.

“It is not their duty to establish a military regime in Tunisia.”

It is the second time Marzouki who led the country from 2011 to 2014, is calling to the army to remove Saied.

He made the same call in November 2021 and was sued by Saied. A court in Tunis indicted him for treason, on the back of article 23 of the penal code. The court sentenced him to four years in prison in absentia for working against the interests of the country.

Saied ordered a legal action to be taken against the former leader and his diplomatic passport to be seized after he accused him of treason following Marzouki’s confession that he contributed to postponing the Francophonie Summit that was scheduled to take place on Djerba Island.
Marzouki has been an outspoken critic of Saied following his July 25, 2021 move during which he seized the executive and judiciary power and suspended the parliament.

The ex-leader lambasted Saied for being a political debutant that lacks ability to rule the North African country and pointed out that the July 25 move rolled backed the democratic gains made following the 2011 revolution.