Thousands of Tunisians rallied in the capital on Saturday, demanding President Kais Saied’s resignation five years after he suspended parliament….reports Africa Daily News Desk
Thousands of protesters gathered in the Tunisian capital on Saturday to demand the resignation of President Kais Saied, marking five years since he suspended parliament in a move that reshaped the country’s political landscape.
Demonstrators marched through the streets of Tunis carrying placards reading “Get out”, “Game over” and “Only Kaïs remains happy”, while chanting slogans calling on the President to step down.
The rally coincided with the fifth anniversary of Saied’s July 25, 2021 decision to suspend parliament before later dissolving it and governing by decree. Protesters accused the government of worsening living conditions, weakening democratic institutions and mismanaging the country’s affairs amid an ongoing economic crisis.
According to Africanews, academic and sociology researcher Mouldi Gassoumi described the demonstration as an appeal for Tunisians to reclaim the principles of the republic.
“Unfortunately, these values began to be abandoned on 25 July 2021, since what I have repeatedly described as a ‘coup d’état against the constitutional order’,” he said.
The protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations against the government’s crackdown on dissent, economic hardship and restrictions on press freedom, Africanews reported.
Protesters also carried portraits of imprisoned journalist Mourad Zghidi. His sister urged Tunisians to continue resisting what she described as growing repression.
“And those who could bring added value to this country are behind bars. The country is facing great dangers, and we must take to the streets to defend its achievements,” she said.
According to Africanews, Saturday’s demonstration came amid growing social tensions as Tunisia grappled with an intense heatwave that has sparked multiple wildfires and triggered repeated power and water outages, adding to public frustration over declining basic services.
President Saied has maintained that the measures he introduced since July 2021 were necessary to restore stability and tackle corruption, while his critics argue they have weakened democratic institutions established after Tunisia’s 2011 revolution.
