Tunisia’s political rift intensified on Thursday as opponents and supporters of President Kais Saied staged rival rallies in the capital, marking a sharp divide over the country’s future.
Opponents of Saied gathered in central Tunis, accusing him of using the judiciary and police to silence dissent. The protest, the second such demonstration in a week, reflects growing concerns from human rights groups that Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, is slipping toward authoritarian rule.
Protesters filled Habib Bourguiba Avenue, chanting slogans like “Saied go away, you are a dictator” and “The people want the fall of the regime,” echoing chants from the 2011 uprising that ousted former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Simultaneously, Saied’s supporters rallied along the same street, voicing their allegiance with chants of “No to foreign interference” and “The people want Saied again.” Riot police were deployed in large numbers to separate the two groups, though no clashes were reported.
These demonstrations come amid a broader government crackdown on critics, including the recent detention of prominent lawyer Ahmed Souab, a staunch opponent of Saied. Souab’s arrest, following the sentencing of opposition leaders on conspiracy charges, has drawn condemnation from the international community, including France, Germany, and the United Nations.
Protesters began their march from the Administrative Court, where Souab had previously worked, and moved toward the headquarters of Tunisia’s powerful UGTT union, before heading to Habib Bourguiba Avenue.
Saied’s critics argue that his actions, including seizing additional powers in 2021 by dissolving parliament and taking control of the judiciary, have undermined the democracy achieved in the 2011 revolution. They call his actions a coup, while Saied defends them as necessary to end the country’s political turmoil and fight corruption.
The leaders of Tunisia’s main political parties, including Abir Moussi of the Free Constitutional Party and Rached Ghannouchi of Ennahda, remain in prison, with Saied’s government claiming these actions are essential to ensuring the country’s stability. Saied continues to maintain that Tunisia is still a democracy and insists that corrupt elites must be held accountable.