Tunisia
Reports
A decade of protests: Why governance reform is critical in the Arab World
The Arab Spring, Ten Years On: What Have We Learned and Where Are We Going?
Justice to come? Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission
[Kais Saied] ignored an online consultation for the public and even the consultative committees that wrote the first draft of the constitution, and put forward his own text in the end.
If it was not clear already, Kais Saied’s moves to put half of the parliament on trial for treason and conspiracy should reveal to all his authoritarian ambitions. He has never been committed to the constitution. [Saied] has consistently exhibited a tendency toward executive aggrandizement, increasing his powers in violation of the constitution. Civil society organizations, despite their frustrations with Saied, are trying to set themselves up as the ‘neutral’ arbiters between the president and the opposition. Even if political parties, civil society and international donors all unify around a demand of restoring democratic institutions, and public opinion turns on Kais Saied (both of which are tall tasks), that still may not be enough. It ultimately depends on Kais Saied: Will he agree to negotiate, or will he escalate into even greater repression? We just don’t know. His personality and behavior will ultimately make or break Tunisian democracy.