Tunisian President Kais Saied defended on Monday his decision to sack the prime minister and suspend parliament, after tensions spread on the streets and divisions dominated the political scene in the North African country.
Saied had announced on Sunday that he was assuming executive authority along with a new prime minister he will appoint to replace Hichem Mechichi, who was also in charge of the Interior Ministry.
On Monday, Saied also relieved Defence Minister Ibrahim Bartagi and Acting Justice Minister Hasna Ben Slimane of their posts.
They will not act as caretaker ministers, as Saied ordered lower-ranking administrative and finance officials at each ministry to carry out any needed tasks until a new premier and cabinet are appointed, according to a statement by the presidency.
These decisions come amid deepening political, health and economic crises in the country.
The Ennahda movement, Tunisia's largest political party, decried Saied's measures as a coup. The president's allies in parliament were also divided in their reaction to his move.
In a meeting with the heads of syndicates and unions, Saied reiterated his rejection to the accusations that he staged a coup.
"This is an implementation of the constitution. Article 80 gave the president the right to take the necessary measures in case of imminent danger," he said, in a video of the meeting published by the presidency.
He said the danger was already present, threatening the economic and social situation in the country. He mentioned slow roll-out of the vaccination campaign as proof of one of the threats to citizens.
"Isn't the disintegration of the country an imminent danger?" he asked.
Article 80 in Tunisia's constitution allows the president to take extraordinary measures if there is "imminent danger threatening the nation."
However, critics accuse Saied of not upholding the part that states that parliament should be in a state of continuous session during that time.
Saied dismissed the criticism, saying that it means parliament should be in session "in a political sense."
"I did not dissolve [the parliament] but suspended the legislation work and all powers of representatives," the president said.
Saied, an ex-law professor who took office in 2019, has been locked in a political dispute about the powers of the government and parliament for months.
His decisions on Sunday came hours after protesters took to the streets in several parts of the country, demanding the government resign and the parliament be dissolved.
Ennahda leader and head of parliament Rached Ghannouchi and other lawmakers tried to enter the building early on Monday, but were stopped by the military.
"We are the military, implementing instructions ... that parliament is closed," a member of military personnel was heard telling them in a video posted by Ennahda.
Ennahda supporters protested outside parliament building, with some of them climbing the closed gate of parliament shouting "open the door," until police pushed protesters away from the gate.
Protesters and lawmakers were shouting "The people want to overturn the coup" and "Supporting legitimacy is a must."
Al Arabiya television reported that Saied's supporters also gathered near parliament, leading to scuffles between the two sides until security forces separated them.
Military forces were deployed around the government's offices in Tunis in the morning. Employees were stopped from entering the building, a source at the Cabinet told dpa.
Later on Monday, Saied issued decree suspending work in public institutions and local administrations for two days starting Tuesday.
He also imposed a night-time curfew between 7 pm to 6 am until August 27.
Tunisia has imposed several curfews and movement restrictions measures in recent months in a bid to limit the spread of coronavirus.
According to the Health Ministry, 2.6 million in the 11-million population have been vaccinated, though less than 1 million received two doses. Thousands of new cases are being registered daily and about a third of all coronavirus tests come back positive.
More than 18,800 have died there during the course of the pandemic.
Tunisia has experienced an economic slowdown due to public unrest and attacks by militant insurgents since an uprising that inspired the Arab Spring revolts of 2010-11.
While Saied's supporters celebrated his decisions, the measures left his two main allies in parliament divided.
The People's Movement party hailed his move as "a path towards correcting the course of the revolution, which has been violated by anti-revolutionary forces, led by Ennahda."
However, the Democratic Current party rejected the president's measures and called for unifying efforts to get the country out of the crisis by respecting democracy, human rights and fighting political corruption.
Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera said that at least 20 heavily armed plainclothes police officers stormed their office and ordered reporters to turn off their phones and leave.
