Tunisia Speaker rejects President's dissolution of Parliament

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The speaker of Tunisia's parliament on Thursday rejected President Kais Saied's dissolution of the assembly the previous day.

"We consider that the parliament remains operational," Rached Ghannouchi told AFP in an interview.

"The president does not have the constitutional right to dissolve parliament."

His move came eight months after he sacked the government, froze parliament, and seized powers, later moving to rule by decree in moves opponents have dubbed a "coup".

The President's announcement on Wednesday evening came hours after parliamentarians held a plenary session online -- their first since Saied's measures -- and voted through a bill against his "exceptional measures".

Addressing his National Security Council, Saied said MPs who had taken part would be prosecuted and called their move an attempted “coup”.

But Ghannouchi called Saied's decision "null and void because it contradicts the constitution".

What happened?

Tunisian President Kais Saied dissolved Parliament, on Wednesday, calling for legislative elections within 3 months.

"Today, at this historic moment, I announce the dissolution of the Assembly of Representatives of the people, to preserve the state and its institutions," he said in a statement carried on state TV.

The Tunisian President made the announcement during a meeting of the National Security Council, just hours after parliamentarians held an online plenary session and passed a bill opposing his "exceptional measures".

Simultaneously, Saied called the move by Parliament a "coup attempt" and said those responsible had "betrayed" the country.