Tunisia's Ennahda Movement dissolves executive committee

TUNIS, Tunisia

The president of Tunisia's Ennahda Movement party, Rachid Ghannouchi, decided to dissolve its executive committee, according to a statement early Tuesday.

"Following the Party president’s decision to restructure the Party’s executive committee, the president has ended the duties of all members of the committee and decided to form a new committee in accordance with the requirements of this phase and to achieve greater effectiveness," the Media and Communications Office of the Ennahda Party, the largest in the Tunisian parliament, announced on Facebook.

Ghannouchi in a statement also thanked all outgoing members for "all their efforts in fulfilling their assigned duties" and called on them to proceed in fulfilling their duties until the new committee is formed.

"The party president reaffirms the continuation of the crisis management cell headed by Mr. Mohamed Goumani in order to contribute to efforts being made towards bringing Tunisia out of the exceptional circumstances it is experiencing," it added.

Meanwhile, Tunisian President Kais Saied extended the suspension of parliament until further notice, which follows his dismissal last month of the country’s prime minister, Hichem Mechichi, and freezing of parliament.

"President #Kais_Saied issues a presidential decree extending the exceptional measures enacted under Decree No. 80 regarding the suspension of Parliament and lifting of the parliamentary immunity of its MPs until further notice," the Tunisian Presidency said on Twitter.

In a separate post, the presidency noted that the president will deliver an address to the Tunisian people "in the upcoming days."

Last month, Saied argued that his decisions were in line with Article 80 of the constitution, which allows the president to take exceptional measures under serious threats to protect the country. The article, however, conditioned taking such measures in consultation with the head of the government and parliament speaker.

What happened in Tunisia?

The ongoing social, economic and political crisis in Tunisia and the situation in the health system due to the coronavirus pandemic caused Tunisians to take to the streets in masses on July 25.

During the demonstrations, there was intense reaction to the settled politics in the country. In some regions, the headquarters of the Ennahda Movement were also attacked.

On July 25, President Saied ousted the government, suspended parliament and assumed executive authority. While he insists that his exceptional measures are meant to "save" the country, his critics accuse him of orchestrating a coup.

Tunisia has been seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among Arab countries which witnessed popular revolutions toppling ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya and Yemen.