Tunisia

22 June 2022; MEMO: Tunisian President Kais Saied said on Tuesday that Islam will not be the "state religion" in the new constitution, which he will present to a referendum on 25 July.

"God willing, in the upcoming constitution for Tunisia, we will not talk about a state whose religion is Islam," Saied told reporters at Tunis-Carthage International Airport, "but rather we will talk about a nation whose religion is Islam, and the nation is different from the state."

21 June 2022; MEMO: A judge in Tunisia has revealed that a new list is being prepared of more than 400 of his colleagues to be dismissed after 25 July, coinciding with the referendum on the new constitution, Arabi21 has reported.

"The judges are determined to defend their just cause," explained Murad Al-Masoudi. "They are steady in their defence of the judicial authority, and note that the executive authority is in a critical situation and has no way out apart from sitting at the negotiating table."

20 June 2022; MEMO: Tunisian judges have extended their ongoing strike for a third week in protest of the sacking of their colleagues by President Kais Saied, Anadolu Agency reported.

"The strike has yet to achieve results as the president ignored our protest," Murad al-Masoudi, the head of the Association of Young Judges, told Anadolu Agency.

"We have decided to extend the strike for a third week," he added, vowing further escalations if their demands were not heeded.

TUNIS, June 18 (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tunis on Saturday in opposition to a referendum on a new constitution called by President Kais Saied that would cement his hold on power.

The protest led by Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, reflected growing opposition to Saied since he seized executive power last year, dissolving parliament and ruling by decree in a move opponents called a coup.

Thousands marched from Bab Souika Square in the capital towards Kasbah, waving Tunisian flags.

TUNIS, May 23 (Reuters) - Tunisia's powerful labour union said on Monday it would hold a national strike over wages and the economy after refusing to take part in a limited dialogue proposed by the president as he rewrites the constitution.

With more than a million members, the UGTT is Tunisia's most powerful political force and its call for a strike may present the biggest challenge yet to President Kais Saied after his seizure of broad powers and moves to one-man rule.

22 May 2022; MEMO: Tunisian President Kais Saied issued Friday a presidential decree stipulating the creation of a National Consultative Commission for the New Republic, two advisory committees, and another for National Dialogue; all political parties were excluded from these bodies.

According to the decree issued in the Official Gazette, the National Consultative Commission will be chaired by Professor of Law Sadok Belaid.

19 May 2022; MEMO: The United States will reduce its aid to Tunisia after its government's "deviation from democracy," the chief of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, warned yesterday.

"Tunisia will receive less money in the 2023 budget," Power told Congress, noting that the move had come after what it described as the Tunisian government's repression of the civil society and violation of the supremacy of law and democratic standards.

A Tunisian official announced on Friday that his country had raised the prices of domestic consumption of electricity and natural gas in the latest series of price increases in a country suffering the worst financial crisis in its history.

The African country is seeking to reach a new loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for reforms that are not supported by its people, including cutting energy and food subsidies and freezing wages.

TUNIS, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia and Egypt signed several agreements on Friday to strengthen bilateral cooperation, according to a statement released by the Tunisian government.

These agreements were signed in the presence of Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden Romdhane and her Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouly at a ceremony upon the conclusion of the 17th session of the Egyptian-Tunisian Joint Higher Committee.

TUNIS, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly arrived in Tunisia on Thursday to attend a joint committee meeting on boosting bilateral cooperation.

Madbouly, heading a high-level delegation, was received at the airport by his Tunisian counterpart Najla Bouden Romdhane, the Tunisian presidency said in a statement.

During his two-day stay, Madbouly is scheduled to hold talks with Tunisian President Kais Saied, Romdhane and other senior Tunisian officials.