Tunisian president extends state of emergency for another 11 months

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has extended the country’s long-running state of emergency for another 11 months until the 31 December.

The emergency law gives the authorities exceptional powers, including the right to carry out home arrests, ban official meetings, impose curfews, censor the media, and prohibit assemblies without permission from the judiciary.

The state of emergency was first declared on 24 November 2015 following a bomb attack on a bus carrying the presidential guards. Twelve agents died in the incident.

It has remained in effect continuously since then through repeated extensions.

Hundreds of people took to the street of Tunis earlier this month, amid growing discontent over Saied’s increasingly authoritarian rule.

During a sweeping power grab in July 2021, he suspended parliament and expanded executive power so he could rule by decree.

Since then, he has jailed many of his critics. Saied says his actions are legal and aimed at ending years of chaos and rampant corruption.