Tunis Protesters Demand Resignation of President Kais Saied

Hundreds of activists and political opponents marched in Tunis on Thursday, August 20, demanding the resignation of Kais Saied and the restoration of democracy. Organized by the Nafas movement, the demonstrations follow a similar protest held on July 25 and center on a combination of political grievances and a deteriorating economy.

Protesters specifically rejected Saied's one-man rule and called for the release of imprisoned journalists, activists, and opposition figures. The unrest is fueled by severe shortages of medicine and basic goods, alongside an inflation rate of 5.2 percent. Infrastructure failures have exacerbated the crisis; extreme heat reaching 50 degrees Celsius triggered record electricity demand, forcing the state-owned Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas to implement power rationing. These blackouts disrupted water pumping stations and bottled water production, the latter of which was further hampered by petrochemical shortages linked to shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Saied has consolidated power since July 2021, when he dismissed the government and dissolved parliament to govern by decree. While Saied maintains that his actions and the dissolution of the Supreme Judicial Council are necessary to fight corruption, rights groups accuse his government of using security forces to suppress dissent and conducting a broad crackdown on civil society. Saied has claimed his critics are funded by foreign interests seeking to destabilize the country.