Today, Thursday, the Tunisian President issued a decree dissolving municipal councils and another to call the new parliament to convene.

The decree dissolving the municipal councils was issued in the Official Gazette the day after Saeed announced that he intends to dissolve these elected councils and replace them with temporary ones until the date of the next municipal elections, and to amend the electoral law for municipalities.

The decree provides for assigning the task of running the temporary municipal councils to the general clerks of municipalities under the supervision of the Wali (governor) until new municipal councils are elected, and included an amendment to the electoral law for municipalities.

Among the amendments contained in the decree is that it prevents government officials from running, such as ministers, governors, and judges, in addition to the heads of sports associations, and the right to run for the municipal council is for every Tunisian voter who does not hold a second nationality and is 20 years old at the date of candidacy.

It also stipulates that the president of the municipal council and his first assistant shall be chosen according to the number of votes obtained by each candidate, contrary to the old law, which states that the president is elected by the elected members of the council.

According to the decree, elections are held in one session and for a five-year parliamentary term.

Municipal elections were held in 2018, and the results were topped by independent lists, while Ennahda won a third of the seats.

Today, the Tunisian president issued a decree inviting members of the new parliament to attend its inaugural session next Monday.

The decree stipulates that the inaugural plenary session of the council shall be chaired by the eldest member, assisted by the youngest and youngest, until the election of a president for the council.

It is noteworthy that the legislative elections that took place last December in two sessions took place under a new constitution that enshrines a presidential system and grants parliament limited powers, and these elections witnessed an unprecedented boycott since the revolution.

Said enumerates the achievements

While chairing a cabinet session yesterday evening, Saeed said that what was accomplished in the past few months was not easy at all, as all deadlines were respected with regard to drafting the constitution, organizing the referendum and the People's Assembly elections, as he put it.

He added that the battle today is the economic and social battle against those who wreaked havoc in the country to respond to the demands of the Tunisians, according to him.

criticism of the president's decision

In the reactions to his decision to dissolve the municipal councils, the President of the National University of Municipalities, Adnan Bouassida, expressed his regret for the decision.

Bouassida said that the decision was expected, noting that he had called for setting a date for the municipal elections, given the end of the mandate of the existing councils.

For his part, Hossam Hami, the general coordinator of the "Resilience" coalition in Tunisia, said that the dissolution of municipal councils in Tunisia shows that the existing authority does not recognize popular legitimacy.

Hami added that the authority is constantly dismantling the state of law in order to establish a fascist populist system that is completely loyal to it, as he put it.

The opposition accuses the Tunisian president of establishing authoritarian rule, but he denies this and says that he is working to save the state and purify it of those he describes as corrupt.

Recently, the authorities have arrested several opposition leaders and charged some of them with "conspiracy against state security".