TUNIS — Tunisia's president told the US secretary of
state that his country was preparing to come out from its "exceptional
situation", the presidency said Sunday, almost four months after a shock
power grab.
اضافة اعلان
On July 25, President Kais Saied sacked the government,
suspended parliament and seized an array of powers, citing an "imminent
threat" to the country — the birthplace of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings
against autocracy.
On September 22, he 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.
Tunisia is "preparing the next (political) stages"
in order for it to "come out of the exceptional situation" in which
it finds itself, Saied told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a telephone
call late Saturday, emphasizing his "will" to return the country to a
"normal situation".
Saied told Blinken he had acted in the face of a Tunisian
parliament that had "turned into a theatre for confrontation",
according to a presidency statement, adding that Tunisia's economic and social
difficulties were "the main problem".
Tunisia is heavily in debt and facing a deep economic crisis
exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis, with 18 percent unemployment and steep
inflation.
In mid-October, a central bank official was reported as
saying the North African country was in talks with Gulf powerhouses Saudi
Arabia and the UAE for a bailout.
The US State Department said that Blinken and Saied covered
"recent developments in Tunisia, including the formation of the new
government and steps to alleviate the economic situation".
Blinken said in a tweet that he "encouraged a
transparent and inclusive reform process to address Tunisia's significant
political, economic, and social challenges".
Saied appointed a new government in October, with Najla
Bouden as the North African country's first female prime minister.
But he has significantly pared back the powers of her office
and will technically head the administration himself.
Some of his opponents have accused him of seeking a new
dictatorship, but the president's supporters say his moves were needed after
years of deadlock among political parties seen as corrupt and self-serving.
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