Tunisian Parties Call For Dissolution of Parliament, Withdrawal of Confidence from Speaker

President Kais Saeid meets with his South Korea's Interior minister on Tuesday. (dpa)
President Kais Saeid meets with his South Korea's Interior minister on Tuesday. (dpa)
TT
20

Tunisian Parties Call For Dissolution of Parliament, Withdrawal of Confidence from Speaker

President Kais Saeid meets with his South Korea's Interior minister on Tuesday. (dpa)
President Kais Saeid meets with his South Korea's Interior minister on Tuesday. (dpa)

The Free Destourian Party urged President Kais Saeid to take urgent action to dissolve the parliament and call on lawmakers to sign a petition to withdraw confidence from Speaker Rached Ghannouchi.

On Monday, the parliament office announced that the parliament was going to hold its plenary sessions, in defiance of Saeid's suspension of the legislature.

The parliament said it wanted to meet to address the serious financial, economic, and social crisis in the country.

Head of the Free Destourian Party Abir Moussi said the petition needs the approval of 109 deputies to dissolve parliament and call for early legislative elections.

She added lawmakers would not reject Saeid's invitation if he took a step toward dismissing Ghannouchi, dissolving parliament, and holding the elections.

Moussi filed a judicial complaint to invalidate the decisions of the frozen parliament and stop the plenary sessions scheduled to begin Wednesday.

She warned that going ahead with the meetings would mark a dangerous precedent in the country given the president's order to suspend parliament in July last year.

Saeid had criticized Ghannouchi's call for parliament to convene. Speaking a National Security Council meeting, he stressed that the law must be respected, noting that "the so-called 'virtual meeting' is illegal because the assembly is frozen."

"The State will only recover through an independent judiciary, which is being challenged by those who desperately trying to stage a coup," charged the president.

Saeid stressed that the Tunisian state is not a "puppet" to be toyed with by national and foreign entities.

He warned against attempts to convene the suspended parliament, saying the state's forces and institutions will confront those who want to tamper with the state and push Tunisians to conflict.



Sisi Steps Up Criticism of Ethiopia, Rejects ‘Pressure’ on Egypt Over Nile Dam

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency)
TT
20

Sisi Steps Up Criticism of Ethiopia, Rejects ‘Pressure’ on Egypt Over Nile Dam

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday stepped up his criticism of Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), built on the Nile’s main tributary, which Cairo fears will threaten its water supply.

He rejected what he described as “unilateral measures” along the Nile Basin, warning: “Anyone who thinks Egypt will turn a blind eye to threats to its water security is mistaken.”

Speaking at a joint press conference in Cairo with visiting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Sisi said the water issue had become “part of a broader campaign of pressure on Egypt to achieve other objectives.”

“We will remain vigilant and will take all measures guaranteed under international law to safeguard our people’s existential resources,” he vowed.

Sisi stressed that Egypt does not oppose development in Nile Basin countries but insisted such projects must not affect the volume of water reaching Egypt. “The best way to deal with the Nile Basin is to respect everyone’s interests,” he said.

Negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, under African Union mediation, have been stalled since April 2021, prompting Cairo to appeal to the UN Security Council for pressure on Addis Ababa.

Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 98% of its water, receives an annual quota of 55.5 billion cubic meters. It is already below the global water poverty line, with only 500 cubic meters per person annually, according to the Ministry of Irrigation.

Sisi noted that Egypt and Sudan together receive just 4% of the Nile Basin’s 1,600 billion cubic meters of water, amounting to 85 billion cubic meters.

“This is the only source of life for the two downstream states,” he said, adding that Egypt had never called for “fair water sharing”, which would mean dividing the entire basin’s volume.

Egypt hopes Uganda’s current chairmanship of the Nile Basin Initiative’s consultation mechanism can foster consensus among basin states.

The two leaders inaugurated the Egypt-Uganda Business Forum in Cairo and witnessed the signing of five agreements on water resources, agricultural cooperation and food security, investment, mutual visa exemptions for official passports, and diplomatic cooperation.

The talks come just weeks before Ethiopia plans to inaugurate GERD in September. Former Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs Mohamed Hegazy said Cairo is counting on Kampala’s role in dam-related consultations.

Relations between Cairo and Kampala have been warming, with Uganda recently hosting a “2+2” dialogue between the foreign and water ministers of both countries. Sisi said Egypt views Uganda as a key partner in the southern Nile Basin and seeks to make it a primary beneficiary of Egypt’s development support mechanisms.