Middle East & Africa | Arab democracy’s fading star

Tunisia’s democracy totters as the president suspends parliament

The future of the Arab world’s only full democracy is uncertain after Kais Saied seizes power, cheered on by crowds

|TUNIS

SOME CHEERED it as a necessary intervention into a broken political system. Others called it a “coup”, the possible end of Tunisian democracy. No one is playing down the significance of President Kais Saied’s decision to enact Article 80 of the constitution, under which he suspended parliament for 30 days and dismissed the prime minister, Hichem Mechichi.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Arab democracy’s fading star”

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