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Samia Abbou would never have thought of putting on her lawyer’s robe one day, ten years after swapping it for a deputy seat. And yet, since July 25, this veteran of the Tunisian Parliament, elected successively in the three post-revolution legislative elections, had to return to her first job. Since the suspension of Parliament decreed at the end of July 2021 by President Kaïs Saïed to save the nation from a “imminent peril”, Samia Abbou and her 216 colleagues find themselves on technical unemployment.
“July 25 was necessary because I saw Parliament become a place of corruption and conflict over personal interests, but what happened next is not what we expected,” bitterly declares this social democrat. Samia Abbou denounces the monopolization of powers by the president but also the vagueness of his policy. Kais Saied ” had promised to fight against corruption and in particular that of the deputies. Where we are ? », questions the one who had become known for her fiery outings on the subject within the Hemicycle.
Six months after the head of state’s coup, Tunisia remains governed by decrees and the freezing of the Assembly of People’s Representatives has been extended until the end of 2022. Very critical of the class politician, Kaïs Saïed lifted the immunity of parliamentarians and promised that they would be held to account. In recent months, several MPs have been arrested in connection with old legal proceedings, which had been suspended during their mandate – but very few have been arrested on corruption charges.
A “dysfunctional Parliament”
These interpellations contributed to further damage the image of the Assembly in public opinion. A disenchantment linked in particular “to the low performance of parliamentary work and the omnipresent political conflicts” within the Hemicycle when it was functioning, according to Selim Kharrat. President of the Al Bawsala association, which has scrutinized the work of the Assembly for a decade, the latter underlines the “very low budget of Parliament” and the “lack of experience of elected officials”, which resulted in a lack of legislative progress.
“We clearly had a dysfunctional parliament that strayed from the goals of the revolution,” considers the political scientist, adding that very important laws such as the one on the establishment of a constitutional court or the reform of draconian texts have never been passed. “They could have made it possible to better face the current situation. Today, no appeal is possible,” he assures.
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