More than 1 000 Tunisians have gathered on Sunday near the country’s parliament to protest a presidential power grab they have deemed a “coup.”
Protesters were heard shouting, “The people want to bring down the coup d’etat”, with some carrying signs reading “No to the intimidation of the media”, they also demanded an independent judicial authority and branded the president an “agent of colonialism”, said AFP correspondents.
It is the latest rally opposing President Kais Saied’s 25 July decision to sack the government, suspend parliament and seize an array of powers, citing an “imminent threat” to the country – the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings against autocracy.
Saied had on 22 September, suspended parts of the constitution and installed rule by decree, maintaining full control of the judiciary as well as powers to sack ministers and issue laws.
Some of his opponents have accused him of seeking a new dictatorship, a decade after Tunisia’s 2011 revolt that overthrew dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
But the president’s supporters say his moves were needed after years of deadlock among political parties seen as corrupt and self-serving.
