Tunisians protest president's power grab near parliament

By Yousra Ounes and Amena Alyaferni

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – Hundreds of Tunisians demonstrated near parliament in the capital Tunis on Sunday to protest President Kais Saied’s power seizure.

The protest was staged by a campaign called “citizens against coup” to rally against Saied’s “exceptional measures”, which included the suspension of parliament.

Security forces were deployed in Place of Bardo in an attempt to prevent demonstrators from reaching the parliament building, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter on the ground.

Tunisia has been in the grip of a deep political crisis since the country’s president ousted the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority on July 25.

While Saied insists that his exceptional measures are meant to "save" the country, his critics accuse him of orchestrating a coup.

A new cabinet was unveiled last month, two weeks after Najla Bouden was appointed the country’s first female prime minister.

Tunisia is viewed as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition after the popular Arab Spring uprisings in 2011.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara