Francophone parliamentary assembly suspends Tunisia’s membership

By Mehmet Akif Turan

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – The Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (AFP) announced Wednesday that it has suspended Tunisia’s membership along with that of Chad and Guinea due to political developments in the countries.

It underscored that the parliamentary system should be supported in order to reestablish democratic constitutional order.

Headquartered in Paris, the APF has 56 French-speaking member countries and aims to develop cooperation and solidarity among them.

In a statement Tuesday, the International Francophone Organization (OIF) announced that the 18th Summit of La Francophonie, which was scheduled to be held Nov. 20-21 in Djerba, Tunisia, was postponed for a year because of COVID-19 and the political crisis in the host country.

On July 25, Tunisian President Kais Saied ousted the government, suspended parliament and assumed executive authority. While he insists that his "exceptional measures" are meant to "save" the country, critics accuse him of orchestrating a coup.

The majority of parties in Tunisia reject Saied’s power seizure, with some accusing him of orchestrating a coup against the constitution. Other parties, however, think Saied’s decisions are correct in light of the political, economic and health crises the North African country is facing.

Tunisia has been seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among Arab countries which witnessed popular revolutions toppling ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

*Writing by Ahmet Gencturk