Tunisia’s President Kais Saied on 25 July sacked prime minister Hichem Mechichi and suspended parliament in moves that have proved popular with large sections of the population but present the biggest threat yet to the country’s halting 10 year old experiment in democracy (MEES, 10 December 2020). The moves were made following mass protests against Mr Mechichi and the Islamist- leaning Ennahda party, the largest in parliament, over the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Mechichi, an independent, only took over as PM last August heading a technocratic government – the twelfth since Tunisia’s January 2011 revolution – after the ouster of predecessor Elyes Fakhfakh (MEES, 24 July 2020) (CONTINUED - 288 WORDS)