TUNIS: Tunisia’s new parliament on Monday elected its speaker in its first session, but the main opposition coalition said it would not recognize its legitimacy after an election with a turnout of just 11 percent.
President Kais Saied shut down the previous elected parliament in July 2021, ruling by decree in a move that opposition parties have called a coup.
Independent journalists were not allowed to attend the opening session of parliament for the first time since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution. Officials told reporters only state TV and radio and the state news agency were allowed to cover the event.
Ibrahim Bouderbala, the former president of the Bar Association was elected as speaker. Bouderbala is a staunch supporter of President Kais Saied.
The new parliament, elected in polls in December and January, operates under a constitution that Saied wrote last year. It will have very little power compared with the body it replaces.
Saied has said his actions were legal and needed to save Tunisia from years of crisis.
As most parties boycotted the election, and candidates were listed on ballot papers without party affiliation, most of the new parliament members are political independents.
The National Salvation Front, the main opposition coalition, in a statement on Monday it would not recognize the parliament.
Saleh Mbarki, who chaired the opening session, said: “Our duties as people’s representatives is to work in partnership with the executive authority for the unity of the state.”
The National Salvation Front, the main opposition coalition, in a statement on Monday it would not recognize the parliament.
Journalists protested their exclusion from the session, gathering at the entrance to parliament and chanting: “Lawmakers it is a shame. The press is under siege.”
“It is a scandal and a serious violation of press freedom. It harms the image of Tunisia and attacks the citizen’s right to a free and pluralistic media,” Amira Mohamed, vice president of the Journalists Syndicate, told Reuters.
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New Tunisian parliament elects its speaker in its first session
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New Tunisian parliament elects its speaker in its first session
Israeli cabinet approves West Bank land registration, Palestinians condemn ‘de-facto annexation’
JERUSALEM: Israel’s cabinet on Sunday approved further measures to tighten Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank and make it easier for settlers to buy land, in a move Palestinians called “a de-facto annexation.”
The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.
His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.
Ministers voted in favor of beginning a process of land registration for the first time since 1967.
“We are continuing the revolution of settlement and strengthening our hold across all parts of our land,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of Netanyahu’s government.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said land registration was a vital security measure designed to ensure control, enforcement, and full freedom of action for Israel in the area to protect its citizens and safeguard national interests.
The cabinet said in a statement registration was an “appropriate response to illegal land registration processes promoted by the Palestinian Authority,” and would end disputes.
The PA presidency rejected the cabinet’s decision, saying it constitutes “a de-facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory and a declaration of the commencement of annexation plans aimed at entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement activity.”
US President Donald Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel’s accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.
The United Nations’ highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view, saying it has historical and biblical ties to the land.
The land registration adds to a series of measures taken earlier this month to expand control.
The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.
His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.
Ministers voted in favor of beginning a process of land registration for the first time since 1967.
“We are continuing the revolution of settlement and strengthening our hold across all parts of our land,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of Netanyahu’s government.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said land registration was a vital security measure designed to ensure control, enforcement, and full freedom of action for Israel in the area to protect its citizens and safeguard national interests.
The cabinet said in a statement registration was an “appropriate response to illegal land registration processes promoted by the Palestinian Authority,” and would end disputes.
The PA presidency rejected the cabinet’s decision, saying it constitutes “a de-facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory and a declaration of the commencement of annexation plans aimed at entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement activity.”
US President Donald Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel’s accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.
The United Nations’ highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view, saying it has historical and biblical ties to the land.
The land registration adds to a series of measures taken earlier this month to expand control.
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