US reiterates call for 'swift' return to constitutional rule in Tunisia
Washington, DC, US (PANA) - The US has again called for "a swift return to constitutional governance" in Tunisia, including the seating of a new parliament.
"We believe that doing so is necessary to restore widespread confidence in Tunisia’s democratic institutions," Mr. Ned Price, the Spokesperson for the US State Department, told journalists at a Department press briefing on Tuesday.
He said the US has stood with the Tunisian people in defending democracy and protecting human rights, including the freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly.
"This is what is stipulated by Tunisia’s constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well," he said.
Tunisia has been going through tense political moments since President Kaïs Saied granted himself full executive, legislative and judicial powers after dismissing the Prime Minister and then dissolving parliament saying he wanted to "save the country in crisis" and fight against corruption.
Despite hostile voices, which accuse him of taking a "totalitarian" path by governing the country alone for more than 10 months by decree, the Tunisian head of state persists in his "roadmap", which provides for a popular referendum on 25 July to change the Constitution and establish "a new Republic".
He also plans to organise early legislative elections on 17 December to form a new parliament.
Recently. President Saied announced the dismissal of 57 magistrates accusing them of "obstructing the functioning of justice".
Among the dismissed magistrates are a former president of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, a former public prosecutor, the former senior investigating judge and a former director general of customs.
Last Thursday, public sector workers embarked on a general strike which paralysed vital activities of the country's economy.
The protest was called by the powerful Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), which has more than two million members.
The protest was motivated by social demands based on the erosion of the purchasing power of a large part of the population of 12 million inhabitants due to the continuous rise in prices of basic necessities.
The striking workers also cited other factors such as chronic unemployment, which affects some 700,000 people, including more than 270,000 young graduates, as well as poverty, which affects nearly two million inhabitants, particularly in the deprived regions of the interior.
-0- PANA MA 22June2022
