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TUNIS. – Tunisia’s young democracy faced its worst crisis in a decade yesterday after President Kais Saied ousted the government and suspended parliament with help from the army, a move denounced as a coup by the main parties including Islamists.
His action followed months of deadlock and disputes pitting him against Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and a fragmented parliament as Tunisia descended into an economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The move risks a destabilising confrontation between the army-backed president, who is seen as an outsider, and groups that say the step is undemocratic, including Islamists who were repressed for decades until the 2011 Tunisian revolt that sparked the “Arab Spring”. – Reuters
Online Reporter