Tunisia-President Saïed speaks on alleged coup

President of the Republic Kaïs Saïed met on Wednesday at the Carthage Palace with prime minister and interim minister of the Ministry of the Interior, Hichem Mechichi and the Minister of National Defense, Brahim Bartégi.

On this occasion, the Head of State emphasised the significance of applying the law, remarking that he does not call, in any case, to derogate from the rules of legitimacy.

In a video published on the official page of the Presidency of the Republic on Facebook, the president stated, referring to a leaked document referring to a constitutional coup, “the situation matches to article 80 of the Constitution and we are in a state of emergency, whereas the coup d’etat is a departure from legitimacy. We cannot, therefore, speak of a constitutional coup. The coup d’etat is plotted against legitimacy “.

“I call for the complementarity between the institutions of the State, within the framework of a single State and single diplomacy, and this independently of the diversity of opinion. The institutions of the State must operate in close coordination “, he said.
He called on justice to perform its role, in light of the hard situation confronting the country. The prosecution must act on its own when it comes to a case touching the state and its institutions, he said.

The Ministry of Justice has presented to parliament twenty-five complaints lodged against the elected representatives of the people, he stated, lamenting the fact that the parliament has not yet examined or submitted these complaints to the plenary session.

In parliament there are deputies caught in the act and others are on the run, he stated.

The parliament did not implement the law against deputies, emphasised the President of the Republic, unveiling the existence of several cases of embezzlement, drug smuggling and fraud.

According to him, these cases must be raised and the people must be notified in the event of a refusal of the lifting of political immunity.

Parliament must play its role, this situation now being prejudicial for the Tunisian state, he argued.

Saied further asked the military prosecution, which had issued a warrant to bring against the deputy Rached Khiari but which was not executed, to fulfil its mission, stipulating that the prosecution was able to execute the warrant in one Record time.

The State, he said, does not dedicate its institutions to settling accounts but rather to respect the law which stays the only reference. “Whoever asks to apply the law starts with oneself,” he said.

Speaking to Mechichi, the head of the state said he desired to inquire about the results of the recent visit to Libya at the diplomatic level. Because he told, foreign affairs fall under the competence of the President of the Republic and more in anticipation of the expected visit of the President of the Libyan Presidential Council to Tunisia.