Thousands of Tunisians gathered in the capital to protest against President Kais Saied, calling for his resignation due to worsening living conditions and democratic setbacks.
The protests mark five years since Saied declared a national emergency, suspended parliament, and began ruling by decree, reversing Tunisia’s democratic progress.
Thousands of Tunisians have rallied in the capital to demand the resignation of President Kais Saied, denouncing worsening living conditions, democratic backsliding and mismanagement of the state.
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Crowds marched down Habib Bourguiba Avenue in central Tunis on Saturday as the country marked five years since Saied declared a national emergency, suspended parliament and later dissolved it in order to rule by decree.
It’s the latest in a run of recent protests opposing crackdowns on dissent, a struggling economy and limits on press freedoms.
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Saied’s opponents accused him of abusing emergency measures to institute a reversal of Tunisia’s hard-won democratic transition process.
“We took to the streets today to hold the system of governance to account and to expose its failures, because it is our role as political and civil forces,” Wissam Sghaier, spokesman for the Jomhouri opposition party, told Al Jazeera. “And to use popular Tunisian expressions: We are not tenants of this country, we are its owners.
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“If for that reason they’re going to fabricate cases against us and accuse us, then when our friends and comrades are imprisoned today, prisons are welcome,” Sghaier continued. “We are ready to pay the price.”
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The marchers set out from Republic Square and moved towards the Municipal Theatre bearing flags and banners rejecting the national programme Saied calls the “July 25 path”.
Demonstrators called for Saied to “leave”, chanted for “freedom, work and national dignity” and revived the call “the people want the fall of the regime”.
These same words once rang out in the same avenue at the start of Tunisia’s democratic revolution in 2011.
Many of the protesters carried signs and chanted for the release of political prisoners, who have filled Tunisia’s prisons since Saied seized emergency powers.
The call for protest began with Nafas, an umbrella initiative that brings together Tunisia’s opposition parties and independent figures opposed to Saied’s monopolisation of power.
Imed al-Khamiri, spokesman for Tunisia’s Ennahdha party, told Al Jazeera Arabic that the protests had expanded beyond traditional opposition parties to include a wider circle of citizens disaffected by the government’s handling of economic issues and public services.
Tunisia’s democratic transition began with the ousting of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January of 2011, after months of civil unrest. In the ensuing years, Tunisia held its first free elections and adopted a new constitution guaranteeing political freedoms.
Much of those gains have since been undone. Since instituting rule by decree, Saied has dismissed dozens of judges, criminalised the spread of media the government deems false and arrested major figures in the opposition.
Among the most prominent of those now jailed is Rached Ghannouchi, the 85-year-old former parliament speaker who played a prominent role in Tunisia’s reforms. Jailed for years, he was sentenced in June to life plus 30 years on “terrorism” charges. He reportedly suffers from deteriorating health and recently fainted from the conditions of imprisonment.
Saied maintains that his measures aim to tackle corruption and prevent chaos, denying that any rights or freedoms have been curtailed.
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