Tunisia’s president fired the prime minister and froze the activities of parliament on Sunday following protests in several Tunisian cities demanding the government step down due to failures in handling the COVID-19 crisis. In a statement late on Sunday, President Kais Saied noted that his actions are in line with Article 80 of the constitution, and also cited the article to suspend to freeze the parliament for a period of 30 days. Following the news, large crowds of people flooded the capital and other cities expressing support for Saied’s decision, as scenes of cheering, waving flags and honking car horns were shared on social media. The decision came after a day of protests against the government and the biggest party in parliament, the Islamist Ennahda, due to the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases and failing to effectively govern the country. Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Ennahda Islamist Party, and other opponents decried the moves as a coup and an assault on democracy, and called on Tunisians to come into the streets to stop what he called a coup. However, Saied warned in a televised statement against any violent…
