Tunisian anti-terror unit summons 30 MPs: Ghannouchi

By Yosra Ounas

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – More than 30 lawmakers have been summoned by Tunisia’s anti-terrorism unit, the country’s parliament speaker said on Thursday.

“This is a serious development,” Rached Ghannouchi told the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television, without giving any further details.

There was no comment from the Tunisian presidency on Ghannouchi’s statement.

The parliament speaker rejected President Kais Saied’s decision to dissolve Parliament.

"No to exclusion. We call for national dialogue that includes all parties,” he said.

On Wednesday, Saied dissolved the suspended parliament, hours after lawmakers held a plenary session to revoke his measures taken since July 25, 2021.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis since July 25 when Saied dismissed the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority, in a move decried by opponents as a “coup.”

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 Ahmed Asmar