North Africa and the Sahel

Tunisia's largest political party has called for the holding of simultaneous legislative and presidential elections to guarantee the protection of the democratic process. On its part the European Union said in a statement that "the country’s commitment to democracy, and respect for the rule of law, for the Constitution and for the legislative framework must be maintained".

The crisis began late on Sunday when president Saïed invoked the constitution to dismiss the prime minister, Hichem Mechichi, suspend parliament for 30 days, and remove immunity from members of parliament, saying he would govern alongside a new premier.

Tunisia is in deep political crisis after the president dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament in a move his opponents are describing as a coup. President Kais Saied said he would assume executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister, in the biggest challenge yet to the democratic system Tunisia introduced following the 2011 revolution. The crisis also poses a challenge to the European Union which has previously strongly backed Tunisia's transition to democracy and its reform process.

Tunisia is witnessing a quickly deteriorating health situation as Covid-19 cases reach an all-time high with public hospitals struggling to cope. The Delta variant is to blame along with poor vaccination performance.  With only 7 per cent of the country’s population fully vaccinated, the virus exasperates the already tense political and economic situation.