Tunisia’s President Moves to Suspend Parliament and Fire Prime Minister

The effort by Kais Saied to take control of the country was seen as a threat to the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring protests. His opponents called it a “coup.”

CAIRO — Tunisia’s president late on Sunday said he was firing the prime minister, suspending Parliament and taking control of the country after large anti-government protests across a nation struggling with deepening health and economic crises. The power grab by the president, Kais Saied, was seen as a major threat to the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring protests a decade ago. A leading political party, Ennahda, called it “a coup against the Tunisian democracy and its constitution” and “a betrayal of every Tunisian,” urging Mr. Saied to reverse his decisions immediately. “Tunisia is the only Arab Spring’s success story and that story does not end here,” Ennahda said in a statement. “We call on every international supporter of democracy to come together to speak out immediately against this injustice and call for the immediate restoration of our Parliament.”