Tunisia marks Saied's emergency measures anniversary amid deadly power crisis

Five Years of Centralized Power

On July 25, 2021, President Kais Saied invoked Article 80 of the 2014 constitution to implement a series of exceptional measures, fundamentally altering Tunisia's political landscape. These actions included freezing parliament's powers, suspending the immunity of its members, dismissing Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, and assuming executive authority. Saied subsequently appointed his own government and placed the public prosecution service under his direct supervision, effectively centralizing power within the presidency.

This initial move set in motion a political restructuring that culminated in the adoption of a new constitution in 2022, establishing a presidential system. The new document significantly broadened Saied's powers compared to the 2014 text, assigning the president primary responsibility for state policy and substantially narrowing parliament's role. The referendum approving this constitution, held on July 25, 2022, saw a turnout far below previous elections, largely due to a boycott by most opposition parties, highlighting the contentious nature of these changes.

Erosion of Democratic Institutions

Between his emergency declaration and the new constitution's adoption, President Saied governed by decree, systematically stripping parliament of its legislative and oversight functions before dissolving it definitively in March 2022. Further consolidating his authority, Presidential Decree No. 117 in September 2021 formalized his assumption of wide executive and legislative powers. In 2022, Saied also announced the dissolution of the High Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges by presidential order.

These actions have been widely criticized by judges, opposition parties, and human rights organizations as a direct assault on judicial independence. From early 2023, judicial proceedings have multiplied against prominent opposition figures, politicians, businesspeople, and journalists, including Rached Ghannouchi and Chaima Issa. While Tunisian authorities claim these cases are unrelated to political activity and concern threats to state security, opposition groups and international human rights organizations describe them as politically motivated, further signaling a decline in the rule of law and human rights protections.

Crisis Amidst Unfulfilled Promises

The anniversary of Saied's emergency measures is overshadowed by a severe infrastructure crisis, marked by over a week of blackouts during an exceptional heatwave, which has also led to severe water shortages. The Organisation of Young Doctors in Tunisia reported between 150 and 200 deaths linked to these conditions, though authorities have not confirmed these figures. Local media reported at least five direct deaths, including a cancer patient, due to power failures disabling home medical equipment like oxygen devices.

President Saied acknowledged the crisis, describing the outages as "not normal" and calling for accountability, but offered no specific measures. The state electricity company, STEG, attributed the outages to record demand from "excessive use of air conditioning," stating that controlled outages were a "preventive measure" to protect the national grid. This crisis underscores the persistent economic difficulties and limited growth that have plagued Tunisia since 2021, with promises of economic renewal failing to materialize. Private investment remains cautious, and access to external financing is restricted, with international financial institutions like the IMF warning about rising public debt, exacerbating the challenges faced by the Saied administration.