Tunisia-Michaël Ayari: There are two politicized clans that clash in Tunisia and this can lead to violence

The central analyst for the International Crisis Group “Tunisia-Algeria” since 2011 Michaël Bechir Ayari asserted, in an interview granted to Tunisie Numérique, that the doctrine of the polarization of the political scene is only cited within the framework of a context of multidimensional crisis that impacts several economic, social, institutional, constitutional and other sectors.

He clarified that the polarization that formerly existed in Tunisia was between Islamists and non-Islamists. “Today we encounter a new polarization. On the one hand, we find the supporters who back the July 25 measures and those who are against the coup, including the political parties represented in the House of People’s Representatives and the components of civil society. On the other side, there is the Head of State Kais Saied who counts on Presidential Decree No. 117,” he said.

Ayari clarified that for the first time in its history, Tunisia faces two separate institutional legitimacies: a clan that demands legislative elections and considers that Parliament is a power that represents the will of the people and another that defends the will of the people.

our speaker pointed to the protests and counter-demonstrations that have been organized, revealing that the opposition parties might think that the practices exerted against them are repressive. “The polarization, the specificity of the financial and socio-economic conditions in the country, the threats of escalation and the clan that thinks they have faced repression all of these could be the grounds of the birth of an environment of violence. Indeed, there are two politicized clans that conflict and this can give rise to violence and we are pleading on our part to evade the reinforcement of this polarization” adds the analyst.