Wednesday, September 8 – Tunisia’s Constitutional Crisis – What Comes Next?

While lauded as perhaps the only success story to come out of the Arab Spring—where authoritarians, including Tunisia’s Ben Ali, were toppled now over a decade ago—there is serious doubt about whether Tunisia’s transition to a full democracy will endure. On July 25 President Kais Saied invoked what some have called a “coup”; others described it as a necessary and appropriate step to regain order and implement needed economic reforms. Parliament was suspended for 30 days and government ministers were summarily dismissed resulting in a constitutional crisis. On August 23, Saied extended the suspension of parliament; and in another worrisome sign, some politicians and officials were placed under house arrest. Yet, despite the turmoil and uncertainty, the president’s popularity has reached new heights. Joining from Tunisia are Houda Zaghdoudi, women’s rights activist, producer of Tunisian Television’s Inside the Parliament, and CNN International correspondent; and Oussama Romdhani, syndicated columnist and Editor-in-Chief of The Arab Weekly, in conversation with CIR Interim Executive Director Jim Falk, who himself lived and studied in Tunisia for four years. Watch the talk here.