Hundreds to streets in support of Tunisian president Kais Saied

Tunis, Oct 3 (EFE).- Several hundred people gathered in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, Sunday for a rally in support of president Kais Saied’s recent moves to tighten his grip on power.

Demonstrators raised Tunisian flags and chanted slogans against the conservative Islamist party Ennahda, which is the largest party in the parliament.

“We are here to tell the president: go ahead. He is dissolving the parliament and cleansing the entire country of corrupt people. He is the only good and honest politician in Tunisia,” a government official told Efe.

The pro-Saied protests come amid a campaign of arrests against those who say the president’s measures amount to a “coup.”

Deputy Abdellatif Alaoui from Islamist al-Karama Coalition and TV presenter Ameur Ayed were arrested earlier on Sunday after they appeared on a television program harshly criticizing Saied’s moves.

Both Alaoui and Ayed are accused of “conspiring against the security of the state and insulting the army,” according to their lawyer, Samir ben Omar.

In July, Saied suspended parliament, sacked the prime minister, and later in September suspended some parts of the constitution to further expand his legislative and executive powers.

His measures have sparked concerns in the United States and the European Union, as well as from local and international human rights organizations.

Saied, who has repeatedly defended his moves, on Wednesday named Najla Bouden Romdhane as the first female prime minister in the country’s history.

Saied, an ex-law professor, took office in 2019 and has been locked in a months-long political standoff over the powers of the government and parliament.EFE