On the night of July 25, 2021, the Tunisian citizens spontaneously took to the streets celebrating the president’s exceptional decisions of freezing the parliament for 30 days- and voicing their wide support.
Before the president held an emergency meeting and announced his decisions, riots took place on 25 July despite the strict measures to prevent demonstrations and the fears of the rampant spread of COVID19.
The Tunisians wanted to express their deep dissatisfaction with the status quo. There was a shared feeling that representatives did not live up to the expectations and that they let down their electors.
The deteriorating purchase power, degenerated public facilities, widened inequality gap between the haves and the have nots, and the unprecedented levels of the budget deficit and public debt stirred social unrest.
Local Democracy Agency Tunisia is committed in its turn to reinforce democratic principles and values at local level
Hence, the revolutionary decisions reflect people’s will and demonstrations against both the government and parliament members. The Tunisians are now hopeful that the newly taken measures would lead to vital reforms. They consider it auspicious to reinforce accountability for those who misused their positions and contributed to the economic breakdown.
What about the democratic process?
10 Years ago, Tunisia ousted dictatorship and embarked on a promising yet challenging ongoing process to democratic transition. Today, civil society organizations and media outlets need to play a significant role to raise people’s awareness to actively participate, observe, and evaluate what is happening to ensure transparency, promotion of good governance, rights, and freedoms, especially freedom of expression.
Local Democracy Agency Tunisia is committed in its turn to reinforce democratic principles and values at local level through encouraging dialogue and civic engagement, and also through creating a synergy among all elements of the society.
During this fragile period of transition, it is crucial to create a clear roadmap to maintain democracy and guarantee justice and separation of powers.
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Article written by Afaf Zaddem from Local Democracy Agency Tunisia.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.