Tunisia summons Turkish envoy after Erdogan’s comments

Turkish president criticised Tunisian counterpart for sacking parliament, saying it was a ‘blow to the desire of the individuals’.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has strongly criticised his Tunisian counterpart [Fethi Belaid/AFP] (AFP)

Tunisia has summoned Turkey’s ambassador after the nation’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised his counterpart for dissolving Parliament.

In an announcement launched on Tuesday night, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied informed overseas minister Othman Jarandi that he rejected “all interference in any kind” in Tunisian affairs, with out immediately mentioning Erdogan.

Saied, who since July has been seizing wide-ranging powers, sacked the meeting final week, eight months after suspending it in a blow in opposition to the democratic system born in another country’s 2011 rebellion.

On Monday, Erdogan had criticised Saied’s newest transfer as a “blow to the desire of the Tunisian individuals” and a “smear on democracy”.

Tunisia’s fragmented Parliament has lengthy been dominated by Ennahdha, a celebration near Erdogan’s ruling AKP Celebration and a bitter foe of Saied.

The Tunisian overseas ministry issued an announcement on Tuesday voicing “shock” at Erdogan’s feedback, which it known as “unacceptable interference” in Tunisian home affairs.

On Wednesday morning, the ministry mentioned Jarandi had spoken by phone with Turkish overseas minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and summoned Ankara’s ambassador in protest.

Saied has been repeatedly criticised by Western governments and human rights teams for his political manoeuvring, which sparked fears of democratic backsliding 11 years after the overthrow of strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The US and France each voiced “concern” after he dissolved Parliament however Tunisian authorities haven't publicly responded to both.

On March 30, the president claimed he was dissolving parliament “to protect the state and its establishments”.

The announcement got here after members of Parliament overtly defied the president by holding a web-based plenary session to vote in opposition to the “distinctive measures” that had suspended their chamber and given him near-total energy.

Saied denounced Parliament’s transfer as a “coup try” and mentioned these accountable had “betrayed” the nation.

Tunisia’s justice minister, Leila Jeffal, requested the lawyer common to open a judicial investigation in opposition to the members on expenses of “conspiring in opposition to state safety”.

Final 12 months, President Saeid sacked the federal government, froze the meeting and seized wide-ranging powers. He later gave himself powers to rule and legislate by decree and seized management over the judiciary.