Two days after the Tunisian UGTT trade Union announced it would not take part in the national dialogue proposed by President Saied, the Deputy Secretary-General gave the underlying reasons behind the decision.
Tunisia: UGTT union confirms boycott of president's proposed dialogue
Noureddine Taboubi, Secretary-General of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), watches a televised news report by Al Jazeera about the UGTT at his office in Tunis.
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" We have repeatedly warned that any call for dialogue must be made in a consultative manner, Sami Tahri said during a press conference. It cannot be done by directive or decree [...] During the last call for consultation [for dialogue] made by the President of the Republic [Kais Saied], there was no consultation and this goes against decree n°30 which was published without consultation beforehand when it should have been. "
The Wednesday announcement comes after President Kais Saied appointed a lawyer to head a commission tasked with drafting a revised Constitution through a "national dialogue". However, all political parties were excluded and only 4 organizations, the UGTT, the employers' organization UTICA, the Tunisian League of Human Rights and the National Bar Association were invited.
The UGTT was part of a national dialogue following two political assassinations that rocked the country just two years after the revolution.
The union and the other participants won the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts, which led to the creation of a new technocratic government.
Saied's July 25 power grab was welcomed by many Tunisians tired of a frequently deadlocked post-revolutionary democracy.
But his opponents, including the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party that has dominated the country's post-revolution politics, have warned of a return to autocracy.
Tunisia's political crisis was worsened last July when the president sacked the government.