Tunisians mark fifth year of emergency rule with calls for Saied to go

Thousands rally in Tunis calling for ‘fall of the regime’ five years since President Kais Saied suspended parliament.Published On 26 Jul 202626 Jul 2026Thousands of Tunisians have rallied in the capital to demand the resignation of President Kais Saied, denouncing worsening living conditions, democratic backsliding and mismanagement of the state.Crowds marched down Habib Bourguiba Avenue in central Tunis on Saturday as the country marked five years since Saied declared a national emergency, suspended parliament and later dissolved it in order to rule by decree.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Tunisian court hands presidential critic Sonia Dahmani new jail termlist 2 of 3Tunisian court sentences Ennahdha leader Rached Ghannouchi to life in prisonlist 3 of 3Jailed opposition leader Ghannouchi faints in Tunisian prison due to heatend of listIt’s the latest in a run of recent protests opposing crackdowns on dissent, a struggling economy and limits on press freedoms.Saied’s opponents accused him of abusing emergency measures to institute a reversal of Tunisia’s hard-won democratic transition process.“We took to the streets today to hold the system of governance to account a...