Tunisian President Kais Saied issued his first statement on Sunday regarding the presidential elections, considering that the time has come to build the national economy and establish new legislation through which the state can restore its social role.
Saied pledged to achieve new reforms in public facilities, especially those related to health, education, transportation, social security, and others, to restore their former glory after they had been damaged over decades, as he put it.
Saied considered that it is time to build public institutions after purifying them, and he said in his electoral statement that “the challenges are many and the determination to overcome them is strong, and that there will never be a retreat from taking up the challenge of purifying the country and removing all obstacles, no matter their size, origin, or perpetrators.”
He added that “among the challenges facing us is the right to work for a fair and rewarding wage, in addition to achieving stability in work and stopping the trafficking in the natural rights of every human being to a decent life,” stressing that half-solutions will not be accepted, and that reliance will fall primarily on self-capabilities.
On another level, the Tunisian President stressed that the sacred duty requires that positions remain firm and steadfast in confronting the Israeli occupation forces, and standing by the Palestinian people until they regain their full legitimate right to establish their independent state.
In his election statement, he also recalled Tunisia’s martyrs who died for independence, freedom and national dignity.
Regarding the measures of July 25, 2021, Saied explained that the biggest concern behind taking them was to maintain peace within society.
Regarding the movements of those he described as “the rabid, paid trumpets,” Saied said that they “cry over freedom and democracy, while they demonstrate every day under the protection of security… and it is ironic that those who were exchanging accusations met in these same demonstrations, and shed false tears over democracy.”
He called on the Tunisian people to choose freely to continue the struggle and fight for the complete liberation of the country, and to achieve the path of construction and building, and the will of the people, as he said in his electoral statement.
It is noteworthy that Saied (66 years old) was democratically elected in 2019, but he took power alone on July 25, 2021, and is seeking to win a second term in the upcoming elections. He considered in statements that his candidacy comes within what he described as a “war of liberation” and a “war of self-determination” aimed at “establishing a new republic.”
In contrast, Tunisian opposition parties and human rights groups accuse the authorities of using arbitrary restrictions and intimidation to exclude competitors from the electoral race and pave the way for Saied to win a new term.
Last update: September 16, 2024 – 13:30
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2024-09-16 14:48:33