To Whom It May Concern,
As is known, protest demonstrations have been going on against the president of Tunisia for months. According to available sources including the BBC, thousands of Tunisians have repeatedly demonstrated recently in the capital Tunis against President Kais Saied, who came to power in 2019, as Tunisia faces a deepening political and economic crisis. The National Salvation Front, a coalition of opposition political parties, and other Tunisians including the Free Destourian Party have carried out protest rallies. The protesters who once supported Kais Saied in his coming to the power have grown increasingly frustrated with the state of the economy and the seizure of near-total power in the North African country and demand the resignation of the President.
Notably, Tunisia’s struggle with the political dictatorship, together with economic discontent and government corruption, led to the successful Arab Spring with the overthrow of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. But Tunisia is still unstable, both in economic and political terms. Economically, inflation and poverty are rising in once relatively prosperous Tunisia, along with the shortage of fuel and staple foods including sugar, vegetable oil and rice in recent months. Also, debts are piling up and unemployment is rising. According to the World Bank, public debt was 70 percent above GDP as of 2020. There is, as is often criticized, an imbalance in the Tunisian economy because of a lack of a robust and well-regulated private sector and a viable economic plan.
Despite Tunisia’s failure to achieve the political expectations of the Arab Spring, the latest political crisis has resulted from several controversial decisions of the president that can pave the way for an authoritarian rule with the consolidation of power. The president sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament, brought the election commission under his control and pushed through a constitution enshrining one-man rule in 2021. Since the new constitution drafted in 2021 gave the head of state full executive control and supreme command of the army, opposition parties have been criticizing it, along with its uninclusive drafting process, since then. Moreover, the President dismissed 57 judges sparking international condemnation. The political crisis has also been aggravating the Tunisian economic crisis since 2021.
It is desired that all the causes of economic concerns and political grievances are well-addressed in Tunisia. Definitely, effective measures are important to mitigate the rising inflation and poverty, which have affected around one-fifth of Tunisia’s 12 million people. The effective negotiations of the Tunisian government with the International Monetary Fund to which Tunisia reached an agreement in principle for a financial package may be helpful to address the economic causes of concerns. But effective plans are imperative to come out of the economic trouble. Moreover, the political concerns of opposition parties over the consolidation of power need to be heeded. Political dialogue with oppositions may be helpful to resolve the political crisis and improve economic conditions.
Amir M Sayem
Chief Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine
