Politics

Tunisia-[Audio] Why Kais Saied Has Not Replaced Sacked Governors Yet …

Tunisian presidential candidate Kais Saied poses for a picture with a national flag at his campaign headquarters in the capital Tunis on September 15, 2019, as exit polls ahead of the preliminary results for the polls predicted him to be "first in the first round". - Kais Saied, an independent 61-year-old law professor and expert on constitutional affairs, and jailed media mogul Nabil Karoui, behind bars due to a money laundering probe, the two anti-establishment candidates in Tunisia's divisive election on September 15, claimed to have won through to a runoff after polling closed in the country's second free presidential poll since the 2011 Arab Spring. (Photo by MOHAMED KHALIL / AFP)

Speaking to Tunisie Numérique, professor of public law Abderrazek Kilani said that the interpretation of article 80 of the constitution made by the presidency of the Republic did not uphold the spirit of the text given the abrupt changes in the organization of powers between the various state institutions.

This is, in reality, a tacit halt of the 2014 constitution, declared the expert, emphasising that the lengthened interpretation of the state of emergency as appeared in article 80 led in turn to the increase of the power of the President of the Republic who today in de facto exercises the powers of the prime minister, including the dismissal of governors.

The question then arises: Why has the Head of State so far not designated new governors to replace those who have been sacked? According to our expert, the appointment of new governors will apparently be made after the establishment of provisional rules organizing the public powers. He estimated that the text was currently under preparation.