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Rabat – During a speech at the 65th anniversary of the Tunisian internal security forces, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied made controversial remarks on consolidating power over the country’s “military and civilian armed forces.”
Presiding over the ceremony, Saied underlined that “according to the Constitution, the President of the Republic is the head of the military and civilian armed forces,” and that the “principle is that there is no distinction” between the civilian, military, and security forces, according to Tunisian state media.
The constitutional controversy comes from the fact that President Saied, in his capacity also as the commander of the Tunisian armed forces, argues that the president’s authority also extends to the security forces, previously considered independent of the military.
In essence, Saied argues that that the law on internal security forces states that they are a civilian armed force, rather than an independent body.
According to the Tunisian constitution’s Article 77, which was passed in 2014, the President assumes supreme command of the country’s armed forces. Saied clarified that the constitution does not note whether these are military forces or security forces.
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And so President Said underlined that “The President of the State is the Commander-in-Chief of the military and civilian armed forces.”
“Let this be clear to all Tunisians of any location. I do not tend to monopolize these forces, but the constitution must be respected,” clarified the president.
Professor Ayman Zaghdoudi, a Tunisian researcher in public law, believes that this is merely an attempt to consolidate power and authority by the president.
“The position of the President of the Republic is nothing more than a new attempt to violate constitutional powers to expand his authority. This interpretation is based on a formal reading that everyone who carries a weapon is an armed force, and is therefore subject to the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces,” explained Zaghdoudi to Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
Citing Article 17 of the constitution, Zaghdoudi explains that ”the term ‘armed’ refers to the military forces and does not extend to the internal security forces,” rejecting the president’s claims.
The controversial statements come amid political standoffs and economic problems, as Tunisia attempts to lift itself out of the socio-economic difficulties that have followed the COVID-19 pandemic.
