Thousands of Tunisians protest President Saied’s coup, demand his departure

Thousands of Tunisians from different regions of the country participated Saturday in capital Tunis in a demonstration to denounce President Kais Saied’s anti-democratic “coup” and his moves to consolidate his political power and to demand accountability for the country’s long-running economic crisis.

The demonstrators, led by the National Salvation Front, a coalition of opposition parties that includes the Islamist-inspired party Ennahdha, and the Free Constitutional Party, held parallel rallies in adjacent areas of Tunis. They denounced the state policy that has led to the deterioration of the economic and social situation since the announcement of exceptional measures, on July 25, 2021, accusing Saied of economic mismanagement.

“Down, down”, “Revolution against dictator Kais” and “The coup will fall” were among the slogans chanted by protesters.

“Tunisia is bleeding. Saied is a failed dictator. He has set us back for many years. The game’s over. Get out,” protester Henda Ben Ali told Reuters news agency.

Ali Laarayedh, Tunisia’s former prime minister and a senior Ennahdha official, told AFP that the protest was an expression of “anger at the state of affairs under Kais Saied”. “We are telling him to leave.”

If Saied stays, “Tunisia will have no future,” said Laarayedh, citing growing despair, poverty and unemployment.

Saied, who moved to rule by decree after shutting down parliament last year and expanding his powers with a new constitution passed in a July referendum, has said the measures were needed to save Tunisia from years of crisis.

But the crisis has deepened with empty shelves and rising prices pushing Tunisians to the brink. Actually, participants in the march shouted slogans against President Kaïs Saïed, denouncing his unilateral decision-making power and presidential decisions that, according to them, have “worsened” the economic and social situation of the country and pushed Tunisians to “throw themselves into the sea to seek a better future.”

In this connection, they denounced the “negative treatment” by the State of the file of irregular migration, mainly the treatment by the government of the “Zarzis tragedy”, after the drowning of irregular Tunisian migrants.

 

Saied’s opponents say his actions have undermined the democracy secured through a 2011 revolution that removed longtime leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and triggered the Arab Spring.