The Tunisian Parliament holds its first session since its dissolution in 2022

March 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The newly elected Tunisian Parliament held its first session on Monday since the country’s president, Kais Saied, froze its activity in mid-2021 to later announce its dissolution in March 2022.

During the session, a strong police presence has prevented access to many independent media and journalists, and access has only been allowed to public media, as reported by TAP, the official Tunisian news agency, whose journalists have expressed solidarity with their professional colleagues.

“This is a restrictive and unjustified practice, and a step backwards in terms of press freedom and the right to information,” the Tunisian journalists’ unions have reported, and also call for local and international media to be allowed to practice. foreigners their rights and duties.

The elections, in which 262 candidates for 131 seats ran, were held between December and January and only 11.3 percent of registered voters participated.

The previous Parliament was dissolved on March 30, 2022 by Saied to “protect the State and its institutions”, just after more than 100 deputies challenged the presidential decision to freeze parliamentary activity in mid-2021.

Saied has since promoted a series of measures to reform Tunisia’s political system, including a constitutional referendum, approved amid an opposition boycott, which reinforces the powers of the Presidency. The opposition has denounced an authoritarian drift of the president and has demanded his resignation, especially after the very low turnout in the December and January legislatures.

In addition, in recent weeks, dozens of prominent opponents have been arrested in an unprecedented campaign since the president seized most of the state powers in 2021 after dissolving Parliament.