A legal reading of President Kais Saied’s decision about invoking article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution

Prepared by the researcher : Mohammad yousef– Attorney at law – Doctoral candidate -International law / Ankara Yildrim Beyazit University / Turkey

Democratic Arab Center

Journal of Afro-Asian Studies : Twelfth Issue – February 2022

A Periodical International Journal published by the “Democratic Arab Center” Germany – Berlin.

https://democraticac.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Journal-of-Afro-Asian-Studies-Twelfth-Issue-%E2%80%93-February-2022.pdf

Abstract

President Kais Saied’s invoking Article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution and the subsequent dismissal of the Prime Minister and the freezing of members of Parliament raised a wave of questions in the Tunisian street in particular and the region in general about the legitimacy of these decisions. In the first section, this paper discusses Article 80 of The Tunisian constitution and the formal and substantive conditions necessary to activate this article of the constitution. Moreover, it examines if the decisions of the Tunisian president were consistent and compatible with what was stated in article 80. Then it addresses in the second section the issue of what some considered a coup or a misinterpretation of the Tunisian constitution. Finally, the article discusses the possible scenarios after this crisis and what are the available tools to confront these decisions in the light of the absence of the Constitutional Court.

Introduction

Tunisia’s revolution in 2011 is often held up as the only success of the Arab Spring revolts throughout the region, but the lack of economic and political stability has made the state vulnerable. The recent coronavirus wave has fueled massive public anger. On 25 July 2021, after violent extensive mass protests, President Kais Saied invoked Article 80 of Tunisia’s constitution to sack Prime Minister, freezing the parliament and suspending immunity for all MPs for 30 days.^[1] Saied, by invoking Article 80, which authorizes the president to take the necessary measures to stop any imminent danger threatening the integrity of the country, stated that he will personally head the public prosecution and take the charge of the executive power.^[2] The recent developments are highly linked to a strong power conflict between the presidency, the PM and the speaker of parliament. On 23 Aug 2021 Tunisian President Kais Saied has extended the suspension of parliament and the immunity of members of parliament until further notice.^[3]

1. What is the article 80 of the Tunisian constitution and has it been legally applied?

Tunisian law article 80 provides guidance for emergency situations. This article allows the president to assume the executive power under exceptional circumstances.

Article 80 states:

“In the event of imminent danger threatening the nation’s institutions or the security or independence of the country, and hampering the normal functioning of the state, the President of the Republic may take any measures necessitated by the exceptional circumstances, after consultation with the Head of Government and the Speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People and informing the President of the Constitutional Court. The President shall announce the measures in a statement to the people. The measures shall guarantee, as soon as possible, a return to the normal functioning of state institutions and services. The Assembly of the Representatives of the People shall be deemed to be in a state of continuous session throughout such a period. In this situation, the President of the Republic cannot dissolve the Assembly of the Representatives of the People and a motion of censure against the government cannot be presented. Thirty days after the entry into force of these measures, and at any time thereafter, the Speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People or thirty of the members thereof shall be entitled to apply to the Constitutional Court with a view to verifying whether or not the circumstances remain exceptional. The Court shall rule upon and publicly issue its decision within a period not exceeding fifteen days. These measures cease to be in force as soon as the circumstances justifying their implementation no longer apply. The President of the Republic shall address a message to the people to this effect.”  

So, to apply the article 80 according to the Tunisian constitution, there is a series of substantial and formal requirements should be considered.

1. The substantial requirements

Two substantial factors must exist in order to invoke article 80:

1. imminent danger threatening the nation’s institutions or the security or independence of the country
2. hampering the normal functioning of the state

The term “imminent danger” is mentioned three times in the Tunisian constitution (articles 56. 75., 80.) but there is no clear definition of this term. So, the body who has the authority to interpret this term is the Constitutional Court and the problem is that Tunisia has not been able to form a constitutional court since its new constitution was passed in 2014 and this has meant that once Article 80 was invoked, it left Tunisia’s president with total control over the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Kais Saied took the advantage of the absence of the constitutional court and considered the recent covid -19 wave in Tunisia as an imminent danger which hampering the normal functioning of the state. Saied says invoking Article 80 is necessary because of the “imminent threat“ facing Tunisia with anti-government anger increasing by the covid-19 crisis and unemployment. When the issuance and interpretation of regulations is limited to the person of the president and when there is no independent judicial body (constitutional court) that has the authority to monitor the decisions of the president, this calls into question the validity and legality of the decisions issued by the president, as he has all the powers. Rabeh Al-Kharaifi, a professor of law said “in the absence of the Constitutional Court, the president has a monopoly on the interpretation of the constitution.”^[4] Salsabil al-Kalibi, a professor of constitutional law also described invoking article 80 by Kais saied as a monopolizing of the interpretation of the constitution. “According to the law, the president has the authority to determine the imminent danger, and in the absence of the Constitutional Court, he is the one who monopolizes this interpretation.”^[5]

1. The formal requirements

There are four formal conditions that must be taken into account during invoking the Article 80 of the Constitution:

1. consultation with the Head of Government
2. consultation with the Speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People
3. informing the President of the Constitutional Court
4. The President shall announce the measures in a statement to the people.

Before invoking article 80, the president is required to consult the prime minister and the speaker of assembly and inform the president of the constitutional court. Parliament speaker Ghannouchi denied having been consulted, Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has not spoken in public since Saied dismissed him, and the constitutional court has not been set up.^[6] Therefore, President Kais Saied’s decision to invoke Article 80 violated most of the formal conditions stipulated in the Tunisian Constitution in order to apply Article 80. Iyadh Ben Achour, a law professor, said “The decisions were completely contrary to the constitution … the condition of imminent danger does not exist and he did not consult the speaker or prime minister.” ^[7]

Supplementary to what mentioned above, Kais Saied decided to freeze the parliament while it must remain in continuous session until the situation is resolved. So given the nature of the measures announced by President Saied, he exercised his powers beyond the scope and conditions stipulated in the constitution.^[8]

1. Coup or a miscalculation in the implementation of the constitution

Back in 2013, Kais Saied himself issued a warning that if strong institutions were not protected, Tunisia’s new constitution would be left vulnerable for misuse by the officials in power.^[9]

It is the absence of the Constitutional Court in Tunisia that creates such problems because it is the legal body who has the authority to give the proper interpretation, define the legal framework for the president’s decision, decide on their legitimacy and compliance with the articles of the constitution.

Some jurists, including the professor of constitutional law, Abdul Razzaq Al-Mukhtar, went to describe what happened as not a coup in the full sense of the word, but a coup against the 2014 constitution. Al-Mukhtar believes that what happened is an attempt to transform the presidential system by paving the way for the return of the old Tunisian constitution.^[10]

Others looked at what happened as a coupe like the Professor of constitutional law Ayyad Ben Achour, who considered the decisions taken by Saied represented as a “coup against the constitution and the state and a violation of the law,” noting that invoking Article 80 of the constitution “is illegal” because it requires substantial and formal conditions.” He explained, in radio statements, that “the essential conditions are those stipulated in Chapter 80 in its preamble that presuppose the country’s exposure to an imminent danger threatening the nation’s institutions or the security or independence of the country and hampering the normal functioning of the state. The crisis that the country is experiencing has not reached a state of imminent danger that threatens the entity of the state, and therefore the essential condition is not available. Also, the formal condition is to consult the heads of the government and parliament and inform the head of the Constitutional Court.” Ben Achour doubted that this happened, despite Saeed’s assertion that the presidencies of parliament and the government were consulted, which was also denied by the parliament’s presidency.^[11]

I hold the view that what happened cannot be described as a coup, but rather a defect or miscalculation in the implementation of the constitution, Professor Manar Esselimi, head of the Atlantic Center for Strategic Studies and Analysis security, has the same opinion regarding to Kais Saied’s decision.^[12]

• Guarantee a return to the normal functioning of state institutions and service”

Did President Saeed’s decisions guarantee a return to the normal functioning of state institutions and services? Given that the Tunisian president interpreted the deterioration of the health situation in Tunisia due to the increasing COVID-19 cases, as an imminent danger that threatens the state, Mr. Saied said: “We have taken these decisions… until social peace returns to Tunisia and until we save the state.”^[13]

So, the health situation and the number of infections with the COVID-19 should be evaluated to distinct the difference between the period before and after the decisions of President Kais Saied

Indeed, when I look at the graphs of the number of daily cases and the number of deaths in Tunisia ( see the graph number 1., 2., 3. below) , I noticed that they have decreased significantly. Therefore, it seems that there is an improvement on the health level and the COVID-19 crisis.

(Graph 1) ^[14]

(Graph 2)^[15]

(Graph 3)^[16]

But on the political level, things are still turbulent and there are clashes and exchange of accusations between supporters of the decisions of the Tunisian president and its opponents. The list of opponents of President Saied’s decisions includes former President Moncef Marzouki, Ahmed Najib Chebbi, one of the most important opponents of the Ben Ali regime, and Hamma Hammami, leader of the leftist parties. In addition to Lotfi Lamraihi, head of the Republican People’s Union Party, and a former candidate for the presidency.^[17] By Monday morning 26 July 2021, Tunisian troops had been deployed to the government palace in Tunis and surrounded parliament, where they blocked Rachid Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist party Ennahda and speaker of parliament, from entry. Ghannouchi has accused Saied of carrying out “a coup attempt.” Videos on social media on Sunday appeared to show some demonstrators vandalizing local party offices of Ennahda^[18].

On the other hand, despite the wave of criticism that the Tunisian president has been subjected to in the recent period, Saeid continues to lead the way in voting for the upcoming presidential elections, as a large majority of Tunisians adhere to President Said’s directions. An opinion poll conducted by the Sigma conseil Foundation revealed that Saied has a “great confidence” among about 72 percent of Tunisians, and won 90 percent of voting intentions in the presidential elections.^[19] Therefore, it is clear that there is a gap and a crisis of confidence that is widening between the Tunisian street and the political parties opposing the decisions of President Kais Saied, which threatens the continuation of the crisis at the political level, and consequently, it may hinder the state and the government from carrying out its normal tasks.

1. What next? Potential scenarios and the available means.

Tunisia’s future is murky and unclear after President Kais Saied’s recent decisions, especially after declaring that he can rule by decree and dispense with the constitution[20]. This statement, of course, will further complicate matters, especially in the absence of the Constitutional Court and monopolized the three powers by the president.

Article 87 of the Tunisian constitution states: “The President of the Republic cannot be prosecuted for acts that were carried out in the context of performing his/her functions.” And as we mentioned above Kais Saied consider his decision by invoking article 80 as an act were carried out in the framework of performing his functions and as a president of Tunisia according to the article 72, He is the symbol of its unity. He guarantees its independence and continuity. Therefore, if the opposition political parties and personalities object to the legality of the president’s decisions especially in  the absence of a constitutional body that monitors the president’s constitutional decisions, it is likely that Kais Saied will resort to Articles 87 and 72 of the Tunisian constitution to respond to all those who question the legitimacy of his decisions and call for their annulment.

1. The legality of President Kais Saeed’s decisions and the remaining means

Accordingly, what are the remaining means for parties and personalities who question the legality of President Kais Saeed’s decisions?

Tunisia has not witnessed in its modern history a legal and constitutional vacuum crisis like it is witnessing today. Unfortunately, the Tunisian political parties bear the responsibility for this constitutional and legal vacuum, as they have not reached an agreement since 2014 to form a constitutional court, which gave the president almost absolute power without judicial oversight, and Thus, making the legal options to respond to these decisions almost non-existent, We review here some options and scenarios that could be applicable in order to confront  President kais Saied’s recent decisions

Call for early legislative elections are likely to bring into power other political forces than the current ones. This may be led to adopting a new constitution to change the political system and call to reform the constitutional body by remedy the legal gap through calling for the urgent establishment of a constitutional court

1. Objection to the legitimacy of decisions

 Political parties have the right to object to President Kais Saied’s decisions within the framework of democratic practice and freedom of expression.

The opposition political parties and civil society organizations, in cooperation with prominent political and legal figures in Tunisia, to form a civil bloc whose function is to pressure President Kais Saied and urge him to reverse his decisions. It also calls on him to fix the gaps in the constitutional system and to consult with all parties and the political spectrum to reach an agreement that satisfies all parties and brings Tunisia out of the political impasse it is living in today.

1. Recourse to Article 88 of the Tunisian Constitution – A grave violation of the Constitution-

Article 88 states: “The Assembly of the Representatives of the People may, through the initiative of a majority of its members, present a motion to bring to an end the President of the Republic’s term for a grave violation of the Constitution.”

It seems unlikely that this article of the constitution can be used, given that all members of the People’s Assembly have been suspended, in addition to the absence of the Constitutional Court.Therefore, in light of these few options available, it seems that the option of pressure on the president by political parties and the street in Tunisia to make real reforms in the constitutional and political system and the establishment of the Constitutional Court and consultation with all parties may be the key to solving this crisis, which is perhaps considered as the greatest threat that  the freedoms and democracy in Tunisia has faced since the success of its revolution in 2011.

            Conclusions

• The fact that President Kais Saied invoked Article 80, sack Prime Minister, freezing the parliament and suspending immunity of all MPs without observing the substantive and formal conditions of Article 80 is considered as an act that violates the law and does not comply with the spirit of Article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution.
• The absence of the Constitutional Court in Tunisia led to a lack of legal and interpretative oversight of President Kais Saied’s decisions and created a state of confusion and conflicting opinions among Tunisian institutions, officials and politicians about the legitimacy of President Kais Saied’s decision to invoke Article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution.
• Some in Tunisia described President Kais Saied’s decision as a coup against the constitution and legitimacy, but legally the decision of President Kais Saied to invoke Article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution cannot be considered as a coup against the Constitution, even if it did not take into account the substantive and formal conditions of Article 80. It is more accurate to name what the Tunisian president did as a misapplication and misinterpretation of the articles 80 of the Tunisian constitution and exploiting the absence of the Constitutional Court by interpreting the COVID-19 crisis in Tunisia as an imminent danger and thus activating Article 80 of the Tunisian constitution.

• The Tunisian President, by invoking Article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution, has monopolized the three powers in his person, and this could threaten the independence of the judiciary. Judicial independence is one of the cornerstones of a rights-respecting society and should not be trampled on. It is clear that there is a noticeable improvement regarding the COVID-19 crisis, and there is a noticeable decrease in the number of infections and deaths after President Kais Saied’s decision to invoke Article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution. Tunisian President Kais Saied still enjoys good popularity in the Tunisian street, but on the other hand, the country is in a state of turmoil at the political level and at the level of government, especially with the presence of large parties that have a majority in the Tunisian parliament, such as the Ennahda Party and figures who have weight in the Tunisian street, such as former President Moncef Marzouki. They oppose the decisions of President Kais Saied and describe them as threatening the political life in the country and in violation of Tunisian law.
• As we mentioned before, The available legal means to respond to President kais Saied’s decisions may be non-existent, which may raise a state of instability at the political and legal levels. Calling early legislative elections or reaching joint understandings between the government and the opposition and paving the way for the establishment of the Constitutional Court may be the best scenario in order to end the ongoing political crisis in Tunisia.

References

1. “Experts react: What’s next after Tunisian president’s parliamentary freeze?” Atlantic Council, accessed on 21/09/2021 at:
2. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/experts-react-whats-next-after-tunisian-presidents-parliamentary-freeze/.
3. “Tunisian lawyers, politicians split on constitutional crisis”, Reuters, accessed on 21/09/2021 at: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisian-lawyers-
4. politicians-split-constitutional-crisis-2021-07-26/.
5. “Tunisia’s PM sacked after violent Covid protests”, BBC, July 26, 2021
6. Aistiqtab mutasaeidun shaebiat alrayiys wamakhawif aliainqisam fi ‘awsat alshaeb altuwnisii ( Escalating polarization ,the president’s popularity and fears of division among the Tunisian people )”, Mena media moniter, accessed on 25/09/2021 at : https://mena-monitor.org
7. Al’azmat fi tunis jadal bayn khubara’ alqanun aldusturii hawl qararat saeid (The crisis in Tunisia, Controversy among constitutional law experts over Said’s decisions)”, DW, accessed on 21/09/2021 at https://www.dw.com/ar
8. Al-Saaidani, Al-Monji, “Tunisiwn yahtajuwn didaaltadabir alaistithnayiyati lirayiys aljumhuria ( Tunisians protest against the president’s extraordinary measures)”, Aawsat, accesed on 23/09/2021 at:

            https://aawsat.com/home/article/

9. Doğru, Alaattin,”Tunisia’s president suspends parliament, assumes executive powers”, Anadolu Agency, accessed on 20/09/2021 at :

           https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/tunisia-s-president-suspends-parliament-   assumes-executive-powers/2313990

10. Inqisam alqanuniiyn walsiyasiiyn altuwnusiiyn bishan al’azmat aldusturia (Tunisian jurists and politicians are divided over the constitutional crisis)”, Euronews, accessed on 21/09/2021 at

            https://arabic.euronews.com/2021/07/26/tunisia-crisis-ea3 .

11. Medi1TV, ( 2021, July 27), manar asalimiun yuqadim qira’atan qanuniatan fi qararat qays saeid alati aitakhadhaha bimujib alfasl al 80 min aldustur ( Manar Asleimi provides a legal reading of the decisions of Qais Saeed, which he took under Chapter 80 of the Constitution).Youtube

            . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whdZBSXne5A

12. Parker, Claire, “Tunisia’s president fires prime minister, dismisses government, freezes parliament”, the washington post, accessed on 24/09/2021 at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/25/tunisia-saied-mechichi-parliament/.
13. Salman, Hasan, “Kais Saied bayn “muhawalat alianqilabi” wa”su’ alfahm” hal ‘akhta ‘ustadh alqanun aldusturii fi qira’at aldusturi? ( Qais Saeed between the “coup attempt” and “misunderstanding” Did the constitutional law professor misread the constitution?), Alquds al- Arabi, accessed on 22/09/2021 at: https://www.alquds.co.ukD
14. Tunisia coronavirus cases”, Worldometer, September 23, 2021.
15. Tunisia: Human rights must be upheld following suspension of parliament”, Amnesty, accessed on 20/09/2021 at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/tunisia-human-rights-must-be-upheld-following-suspension-of-parliament/
16. Tunisia’s President Kais Saied extends suspension of parliament”, Aljazeera, accessed on 20/09/2021 at :

          https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/24/tunisias-president-kais-saied-extends-suspension-of-parliament

17. Tunisia’s Saied issues decree strengthening presidential powers”, Aljazeera, accecced on 30/09/2021 at :

  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/22/tunisia-saied-issues-decree-strengthening-presidential-powers

18. Tunisia’s Constitution of 2014”, constituteproject,

             https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Tunisia_2014.pdf

19. Zdf12ad, (2013, April 24), ‫qis saeid munadidan bitajawuzat alnahdat -khufi min ‘an yakul aldustur himar (Kais Saied criticizes the excesses of the Ennahda party, He expressed his fear for the constitution). Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVrQvAK4zo0&ab_channel=zdf12ad.
20. Zitouna tv official, (2021,Jul 26), qira’at ghayat fi al’ahamiyat li’ustadh alqanun aldusturii eabd alrazaaq almukhtar fi qararat qays saeid ( A very important reading of the professor of constitutional law Abdul Razzaq Al-Mukhtar in the decisions of Qais Saeed). Youtube.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y0_WjU9kRw

^[1] Doğru, Alaattin,”Tunisia’s president suspends parliament, assumes executive powers”, Anadolu Agency, accessed on 20/09/2021 at : https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/tunisia-s-president-suspends-parliament-assumes-executive-powers/2313990

^[2] –  Tunisia: Human rights must be upheld following suspension of parliament”, Amnesty, accessed on 20/09/2021 at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/tunisia-human-rights-must-be-upheld-following-suspension-of-parliament/ .

^[3] – Tunisia’s President Kais Saied extends suspension of parliament”, Aljazeera, accessed on 20/09/2021 at : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/24/tunisias-president-kais-saied-extends-suspension-of-parliament.

^[4] – “Inqisam alqanuniiyn walsiyasiiyn altuwnusiiyn bishan al’azmat aldusturia (Tunisian jurists and politicians are divided over the constitutional crisis)”, Euronews, accessed on 21/09/2021 at  https://arabic.euronews.com/2021/07/26/tunisia-crisis-ea3 .

^[5] – “Al’azmat fi tunis jadal bayn khubara’ alqanun aldusturii hawl qararat saeid (The crisis in Tunisia, Controversy among constitutional law experts over Said’s decisions)”, DW, accessed on 21/09/2021 at https://www.dw.com/ar.

^[6] – “Tunisian lawyers, politicians split on constitutional crisis” , Reuters, accessed on 21/09/2021 at:  https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisian-lawyers-politicians-split-constitutional-crisis-2021-07-26/  .

^[7] – Ibid.

^[8] “Experts react: What’s next after Tunisian president’s parliamentary freeze ?”, Atlantic Council, accessed on 21/09/2021 at: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/experts-react-whats-next-after-tunisian-presidents-parliamentary-freeze/.

^[9] – Zdf12ad ,(2013,,April 24), ‫qis saeid munadidan bitajawuzat alnahdat -khufi min ‘an yakul aldustur himar (Kais Saied criticizes the excesses of the Ennahda party, He expressed his fear for the constitution). Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVrQvAK4zo0&ab_channel=zdf12ad.

^[10] – Zitouna tv official, (2021,Jul 26), qira’at ghayat fi al’ahamiyat li’ustadh alqanun aldusturii eabd alrazaaq almukhtar fi qararat qays saeid ( A very important reading of the professor of constitutional law Abdul Razzaq Al-Mukhtar in the decisions of Qais Saeed). Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y0_WjU9kRw.

^[11] – Salman, Hasan, “Kais Saied bayn “muhawalat alianqilabi” wa”su’ alfahm” hal ‘akhta ‘ustadh alqanun aldusturii fi qira’at aldusturi? ( Qais Saeed between the “coup attempt” and “misunderstanding” Did the constitutional law professor misread the constitution?), Alquds al- Arabi, accessed on 22/09/2021 at:   https://www.alquds.co.uk.

^[12] – Medi1TV, ( 2021, July 27), manar asalimiun yuqadim qira’atan qanuniatan fi qararat qays saeid alati aitakhadhaha bimujib alfasl al 80 min aldustur ( Manar Asleimi provides a legal reading of the decisions of Qais Saeed, which he took under Chapter 80 of the Constitution).Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whdZBSXne5A .

^[13] – “Tunisia’s PM sacked after violent Covid protests”, BBC, July 26, 2021

^[14] – “Tunisia coronavirus cases”, Worldometer, September 23, 2021.

^[15] Ibid.

^[16] – Ibid.

^[17]– Al-Saaidani, Al-Monji, “Tunisiwn yahtajuwn didaaltadabir alaistithnayiyati lirayiys aljumhuria ( Tunisians protes against the president’s extraordinary measures)”, Aawsat, accesed on 23/09/2021 at: https://aawsat.com/home/article/3196726/tm_medium=referral&utm_source=nabdapp.com&ocid=Nabd_App.

^[18] – Parker, Claire, “Tunisia’s president fires prime minister, dismisses government, freezes parliament”, The washington post, accessed on 24/09/2021 at : https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/25/tunisia-saied-mechichi-parliament/.

^[19] – “Aistiqtab mutasaeidun shaebiat alrayiys wamakhawif aliainqisam fi ‘awsat alshaeb altuwnisii (Escalating polarization, the president’s popularity and fears of division among the Tunisian people)”, Mena media moniter, accessed on 25/09/2021 at: https://mena-monitor.org/.

[20] – “Tunisia’s Saied issues decree strengthening presidential powers”, Aljazeera, accecced on 30/09/2021 at : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/22/tunisia-saied-issues-decree-strengthening-presidential-powers.