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DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
In a new decree, President Saied granted himself additional powers to rule over a reformed Supreme Judiciary Council.
Tunisia’s president has issued a decree establishing a provisional Supreme Judiciary Council, effectively replacing the body he abolished and granting himself additional powers to control the country’s top judicial organisation.
The decree, published on the official gazette on Sunday, says the president can relieve judges who violate their official duties and object to the promotion or nomination of judges.
It also forbids judges from going on strike, a form of dissent that had been adopted following President Kais Saied’s move to dissolve the top judicial watchdog on February 6.
Tunisia, often lauded as the only democracy to emerge from the 2011 Arab Spring revolts, has seen some of its gains reversed since Saied was elected president with almost 73 percent of the vote in a runoff election in October 2019.
Critics fear the president, a former law professor, is growing increasingly authoritarian.
Saied, who has put fighting corruption at the heart of his programme, said that removing the judicial council was necessary as Tunisians wanted the country “cleansed”.
On Thursday he had announced he would reform the Supreme Judicial Council instead of abolishing it.
More to follow
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