Kais Saied

His Excellency
Kais Saied
قيس سعيد
Saied in 2023
President of Tunisia
Assumed office
23 October 2019
Prime Minister
Preceded byMohamed Ennaceur (acting)
Personal details
Born (1958-02-22) 22 February 1958 (age 65)
Tunis, Tunisia[2]
Political partyIndependent
SpouseIchraf Chebil
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Tunis
International Institute of Humanitarian Law
ProfessionJurist, lecturer
Signature

Kais Saied (Arabic: قَيس سَعيد; born 22 February 1958) is a Tunisian politician, jurist and retired law professor currently serving as the seventh President of Tunisia since October 2019. He was president of the Tunisian Association of Constitutional Law from 1995 to 2019.

Having worked in various legal and academic roles since the 1980s, Saied joined the 2019 presidential election as an independent social conservative supported by Ennahda and others across the political spectrum. Running on a populist platform with little campaigning, Saied sought to appeal to younger voters, pledged to combat corruption and supported improving the electoral system. He won the second round of the election with 72.71% of the vote, defeating Nabil Karoui, and was sworn in as president on 23 October 2019.

In January 2021, protests began in response to alleged police brutality, economic hardship and the COVID-19 pandemic. On 25 July 2021, Saied dismissed the parliament and Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, executing a successful self-coup. Since then, Saied oversaw the dismissal of the judiciary and arrest of politicians. He ruled by decree until he was successful in passing a new constitution which granted him more powers and called snap legislative elections which resulted in a record low turnout.

Early life

Kais Saied is the son of Moncef Saied and Zakia Bellagha from Béni Khiar (Cap Bon). According to Saied, his late father protected the young Tunisian Jewish Gisèle Halimi from the Nazis.[3] His mother, although educated, is a housewife.[4] His family is of rather modest origin but intellectual and a member of the middle class. His paternal uncle, Hicham Saïed, was the first pediatric surgeon in Tunisia, known for having separated two conjoined twins in the 1970s.[5] Kaïs Saïed completed his secondary studies at Sadiki College.[4]

Professional career

Saied in 2013.

A jurist by training, he is a specialist in constitutional law, and secretary-general of the Tunisian Association of Constitutional Law between 1990 and 1995 then vice-president of the association since 1995.

Director of the public law department at the University of Sousse between 1994 and 1999, then at the Faculty of Juridical, Political and Social Sciences of Tunis of the University of Carthage from 1999 to 2018, he was a member of the group of experts of the General Secretariat of the Arab League between 1989 and 1990, expert at the Arab Institute for Human Rights from 1993 to 1995 and member of the committee of experts responsible for revising the draft Tunisian Constitution in 2014.[6] He was also a member of the scientific council of several commissions academics.

While a visiting professor at several Arab universities, in 2013 he refused to be part of the commission of experts whose mission was to find a legal solution to the problem of the Independent High Authority for Elections. He retired in 2018.[7]

Political career

Political ascent

From 2013 to 2014, Kais Saied participated in several political clubs and meetings, which bring together young people.[8]

In 2016, the Mouassissoun movement was created to support Saied's action and projects.[9]

2019 presidential campaign

Main article: 2019 Tunisian presidential election
Saied during the 2019 presidential campaign.

Saied was one of the first declared candidates in the 2019 Tunisian presidential election.[10] Running as an Independent social conservative, he has sought to appeal to younger voters.[11] One of his policies included support for allowing citizens to recall their elected officials.[12][13] Saied suggested to voters that many of Tunisia's current issues were due to "non-respect for many constitutional laws".[11] He presented a plan to combat corruption, whether it is "moral or financial".[11] Saied was supported by both Islamists and leftists.[14]

In a June 2019 interview with the newspaper Acharaâ Al Magharibi, Saied announced his support for the death penalty. He also made statements that public expression of homosexuality is financed and encouraged by foreign countries, telling the paper:

I was told certain houses were rented by foreign parties... homosexuality has existed throughout history, but certain people want to spread homosexuality.[15]

He has taken conservative positions on women's issues as well, coming out against gender equality in inheritance issues, in accordance with the interpretation of religious law.[16]

Kais Saied is against normalisation of relations with Israel, saying that Israel is at war with the Muslim world, and any Muslim leader who normalizes his or her country's relationship with the Zionists should be tried for treason. He said his country has no problem with Jews and that Tunisians including his father protected Jews during the Second World War.[17][18]

Saied has also stated that he is in favor of a decentralised, three-tier, indirect manner of electing national legislative representatives, some elements of direct democracy, and believes that local representatives should be elected based on character and its underlying structure rather than political ideology. Due to his relative obscurity and lack of campaigning, several of his positions were not well-defined aside from his social conservatism.[14] Despite being supported by Ennahdha in the election and holding socially conservative positions, Saied did not describe himself as an Islamist and had advisers from across the political spectrum.[19] He also is not in favor of adding religious elements to the constitution, stating that these were only his personal beliefs.

Several media sources[11][16][20] referred to Saied as "RoboCop", given his monotonous voice, his use of Standard Arabic rather than Tunisian dialect, and his focus on law and order issues. On the campaign trail, Saied portrayed himself as a man of the people, somewhat similarly to Nabil Karoui, another populist candidate.

Saied received 620,711 votes in the first round of the 2019 Tunisian presidential election, coming in first place, and moved on to face Karoui in the second round. He was announced on 14 October as the new President of Tunisia, winning the second round, receiving 2,777,931 votes equivalent to 72.71% of the vote.[14][21] He took office nine days later, becoming only the second president who was not an heir to the legacy of the country's founding president, Habib Bourguiba.

The prime minister then had two months to create a coalition.[14]

President of Tunisia

Saied was sworn in as Tunisia's president on 23 October 2019.[22][23] He is the first president born after the country gained independence from France in 1956.

Transition and investiture

Kaïs Saïd at Carthage (23 October 2019).

The results of the presidential election were proclaimed identically by the Independent High Authority for Elections on 17 October. On the same day, Kaïs Saïed chose his brother Naoufel, also a professor of constitutional law, to appoint the advisers and members of the presidential cabinet. The office of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People met on 18 October and fixed the oath on 23 October. This date corresponds to the maximum duration of the presidential interim of 90 days.

On 23 October, at the Presidential Palace of Carthage, after taking his oath before the outgoing Assembly, during which he promises to fight against terrorism and its causes, as well as to guarantee the gains of Tunisian women, while strengthening his economic and social rights, he sees the interim president, Mohamed Ennaceur, transferring presidential powers to him.

First steps

Saied refused to stay at the presidential palace of Carthage, preferring his villa in Mnihla, located in the governorate of Ariana.

On 30 October, he appointed diplomat Tarek Bettaïeb as head of the presidential cabinet, General Mohamed Salah Hamdi as national security adviser, while Tarek Hannachi heads the protocol. Abderraouf Bettaïeb is Minister-Advisor to the President of the Republic, Rachida Ennaifer in charge of communication, while Nadia Akacha is responsible for legal affairs.

Government formation

Kaïs Saïd in a diplomatic meeting at the Carthage Palace (2021).

The government being semi-presidential, Kais Saied had a week after his inauguration to instruct the party which took the lead in the legislative elections to form a government. The latter then has a month to obtain the confidence of the Assembly of People's Representatives. On 15 November 2019, he appointed Habib Jemli, the candidate for Ennahdha, to the post of head of government and charged him with forming a cabinet. On 10 January 2020, the Assembly rejected the composition of the government, which was also subject to delays when it was announced. Saied therefore had ten days to appoint a new head of government. On 20 January 2020, he appointed Elyes Fakhfakh.

His government was announced on 15 February, but Ennahdha, whose ministers were announced there, announced that he would not vote for confidence because of the non-participation of Heart of Tunisia. A slightly modified version of the government, but without the participation of Heart of Tunisia, was announced on 19 February; Ennahdha, fearing a dissolution, voted to accept the government. On 27 February, the Assembly of People's Representatives granted confidence to the government.

In June 2020, according to Al Jazeera, "an independent member of Parliament published documents indicating that Fakhfakh owned shares in companies that won deals worth 44 million dinars". Fakhfakh denied any wrongdoing. On 15 July 2020, he resigned.[24] On 25 July 2020, Saïed appointed Hichem Mechichi head of government, with the task of forming a government in one month and obtaining the confidence of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People.[25] Later on, he assumed office on 2 September 2020.[26]

Self-coup

Main article: 2021 Tunisian self-coup
Saied with Italian president Sergio Mattarella at Quirinal Palace (June 2021).

On 25 July 2021, in light of violent demonstrations against the government demanding the improvement of basic services and amid a growing COVID-19 outbreak, Saied suspended parliament for thirty days and relieved the prime minister Hichem Mechichi of his duties,[27][28] waiving the immunity of the parliament members and ordering the military to close the parliament house.

Saied's actions, which included relieving the prime minister of his duties, assuming the executive authority, suspending the Parliament and closing the offices of some foreign news agencies, was classed by scholars as a self-coup, as he disregarded Article 80 of the Tunisian constitution, which states that before raising an emergency state, the president must consult his prime minister and the head of the Parliament, and even then, the Parliament cannot be suspended.[29][30] There however was no constitutional court in Tunisia to offer jurisdiction in his interpretation of the constitution.[31] The president's decisions were also denounced by human rights organizations and considered by several foreign media outlets and Tunisian political entities as a self-coup.[32][33][34][35] The self-coup came after a series of protests against the Ennahda-led government, economic difficulties, and the collapse of the Tunisian health system.[36]

Saied with Secretary Antony Blinken (Washington, D.C., 22 December 2022).

On 24 August 2021, Saied extended the suspension of parliament, although the constitution states the parliament can only be suspended for a month, raising concerns in some quarters about the future of democracy in the country.[37]On 22 September, Saied announced that he will rule by decree and ignore parts of the constitution.[38] Saied named Najla Bouden as Prime Minister on 29 September 2021.[39] Protests against his consolidation of power continued in October 2021.[40]

On 13 December 2021, Saied extended the suspension of the parliament until a new election takes place, and announced a nationwide public consultation that would take place from 1 January until 20 March 2022 to gather suggestions for constitutional and other reforms after which Saied would appoint a committee of experts to draft a new constitution, to be ready by June ahead of the referendum that will take place on 25 July 2022. He said that new parliamentary elections will be held on 17 December 2022, after going through the referendum and preparing a new electoral system.[41] [42][43]

On 5 January 2022, the Tunisian judiciary referred 19 predominantly high-ranking politicians to court for "electoral violations" allegedly committed during the 2019 presidential elections. Among the 19 were four former prime ministers, Youssef Chahed, Elyes Fakhfakh, Mehdi Jomaa and Hamadi Jebali, as well as former president Moncef Marzouki, and the head of the Ennahda party movement, Rachid Ghannouchi.[44]

Saied with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, 16 July 2023

In February 2022, Saied dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council, the body charged with judicial independence.[45]According to the country's justice minister, the Tunisian President has indicated that rather than eliminating the Supreme Judicial Council, he will restructure it. This comes days after the country's decision to disband the highest judicial body drew international condemnation.[46] As a result of the President's decisions, more than two hundred judges and attorneys in black robes demonstrated outside the main court in Tunisia's capital on Thursday, 10 February 2022.[47] On Sunday, 13 February 2022, Saied issued a proclamation appointing a temporary Supreme Judiciary Council.[48]

A constitutional referendum was scheduled for 25 July 2022.[49] After the referendum results indicated that 90% of voters supported Saied, albeit with a turnout of only 30.5%, he declared victory and promised that Tunisia will enter the new phase after he got increased power, some of which was unchecked.[50]After the parliamentary election, the main opposition coalition called for Kais Saied to resign after fewer than 9% of eligible voters took part in the elections.[51]

Since the self-coup, several arrests against high-ranking politicians such as former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, former Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali and former President Moncef Marzouki and many more have been made.[52][53][54][55]

African immigration comments

In February 2023, Saied made comments about African immigration into Tunisia, saying that they were changing the demographic makeup of the country in order to make it a “purely African” nation.[56][57][58][59][60]

In 2023, the number of migrants from Africa trying to cross from Tunisia to Europe increased. One reason may have been growing anti-immigration sentiment and racial discrimination against Black Africans in Tunisia. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tried to strike a deal with Said aimed at stopping illegal migration from Tunisia to the European Union. In September 2023, over 120 boats, carrying approximately 7,000 migrants from Africa—more than the total population of the Italian island of Lampedusa—arrived on the island within the span of 24 hours. The migrants were transported by Tunisian smugglers from the city of Sfax and its surroundings.[61]

Press freedom

This section is an excerpt from Decree Law 54 (Tunisia).[edit]
In September 2022, the Tunisian president Kais Saied signed Decree Law 54, which purported to combat "false information and rumours" on the Internet. Article 24 of the decree gives up to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to 50,000 dinar for anyone found to be spreading such information. This is doubled if the offending statement is made about a state official.[62][63]

Personal life

Kais Saied is married to the judge Ichraf Chebil, whom he met when she was a law student in Sousse. He is the father of three children (two daughters and a son: Sarah, Mouna and Amrou).[64]

Honours

National honours

Ribbon bar Honour
Order of Independence v. 1959 (Tunisia) - ribbon bar Grand Master & Grand Collar of the Order of Independence
Order of the Republic (Tunisia) - ribbon bar Grand Master & Grand Collar of the Order of the Republic
TN Order Merit Rib Grand Master & Grand Collar of the National Order of Merit of Tunisia

Foreign honors

Ribbon bar Country Honour
 Algeria Collar (Athir Class) of the National Order of Merit (2 February 2020)[65]
 Palestine Grand Collar of the State of Palestine (8 December 2021)[66]

Other Honors

Publications

Saied is the author of a number of works on constitutional law, including:

  • (in Arabic) Tunisian Political Texts and Documents (نصوص ووثائق سياسية تونسية) [with Abdelfattah Amor], published by the Center of Administrative, Political, and Social Studies and Research, Tunis, 1987
  • (in French) General Provisions of the Constitution (Dispositions générales de la constitution) [direction], pub. Faculty of Juridical, Political, and Social Sciences of Tunis, Tunis, 2010

Miscellaneous

After assuming the presidency, Kais Saied garnered significant media attention for his handwritten official letters in fine Maghrebi script.[71][72]

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Tunisia's Saied tasks former finance minister to form new gov't". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  2. ^ "قيس سعيد من هو.. ولماذا اختارته تونس؟". سكاي نيوز عربية (in Arabic). Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  3. ^ Fetouri, Mustafa. "Tunisia's new president is an independent, but he will have to work with the political parties". Middle East Monitor. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b ""Robocop", "M. Propre"... qui est Kaïs Saïed, le nouveau président tunisien ?". Le Dauphiné libéré (in French). Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Qui est Kais Saied, l'infatigable marcheur, qui a emporté le premier tour de la présidentielle en Tunisie (Album photos)". Leaders (in French). Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Kaïs Saïed". arabesque.tn (in Arabic). 29 November 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Présidentielle en Tunisie : qui est Kais Saied, le nouveau président élu". tv5monde.com (in French). 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Présidentielle en Tunisie : « Kaïs Saïed a un discours qui répond à la jeunesse »". Le Monde.fr (in French). 16 October 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  9. ^ "En Tunisie, des jeunes épris de changement font campagne pour Kais Saied". La Croix (in French). 9 October 2019. ISSN 0242-6056. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Kais Saïd, candidat à la présidentielle de 2019". webmanagercenter.com (in French). 3 December 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d Delmas, Benoit (11 September 2019). "Tunisie : Kaïs Saïed, un Robespierre en campagne". Le Point. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  12. ^ Frida Dahmani (26 October 2018). "Présidentielle en Tunisie – Kaïs Saïed : "Je ne serai candidat d'aucun parti"". jeuneafrique.com (in French). Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Kaïs Saïed : "Je me présenterai aux présidentielles en tant qu'indépendant"". webdo.tn (in French). 23 March 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  14. ^ a b c d Amara, Tarek; Argoubi, Mohammed (14 October 2019). "Hailing 'new revolution', political outsider Saied elected Tunisia's president". Reuters. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Kaïs Saïed : j'éliminerai les élections législatives et je suis pour la peine de mort". businessnews.com.tn (in French). 11 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  16. ^ a b Lussato, Céline. "Présidentielle tunisienne : " Robocop ", ultraconservateur… 10 choses à savoir sur Kaïs Saïed". Le Nouvel Observateur (in French). Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  17. ^ Benari, Elad (13 October 2019). "Tunisia's president-elect: Normalization with Israel is treason". Israel National News. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  18. ^ T.O.I. Staff (16 October 2019). "Tunisia's new president regards any ties with Israel as 'high treason'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  19. ^ Saleh, Heba (13 October 2019). "Outsider 'Robocop' wins landslide victory in Tunisia poll". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  20. ^ Edroos, Faisal (17 September 2019). "Tunisia elections: 'Robocop' and 'Berlusconi' head to second round". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  21. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "النتائج النهائية تؤكد فوزا كبيرا لقيس سعيد برئاسة تونس | DW | 17 October 2019". DW.COM (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Tunisia's new president sworn in, vows to fight corruption". Associated Press. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  23. ^ Amara, Tarek (23 October 2019). "Political outsider Saied sworn in as Tunisia's president". Reuters. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  24. ^ "Tunisia risks fresh political deadlock as PM Fakhfakh resigns". Al Jazeera. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  25. ^ Amara, Tarek (25 July 2020). "Tunisia president designates new PM amid hopes of ending political crisis". Reuters. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Tunisia's parliament votes on new prime minister amid crisis". San Francisco Chronicle. 1 September 2020.
  27. ^ Yee, Vivian (26 July 2021). "Tunisia's President Suspends Parliament and Fires Prime Minister". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Ousted Tunisian PM not under house arrest: Sources". Al Arabiya English. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  29. ^ "Profile: Kais Saied, Tunisia's president accused of 'coup'". Al Jazeera. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  30. ^ Tamburini, Francesco (17 February 2022). "'How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Autocracy': Kais Saied's "Constitutional Self-Coup" in Tunisia". Journal of Asian and African Studies: 002190962210793. doi:10.1177/00219096221079322. ISSN 0021-9096. S2CID 246962926.
  31. ^ "Tunisia: Human rights must be upheld following suspension of parliament". amnesty.org. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  32. ^ Tunisia’s president launched a political crisis. Is it a coup?, Washington Post, 29 July 2021.
  33. ^ Kais Saied’s power grab in Tunisia, Brookings, 26 July 2021.
  34. ^ Saied's Textbook Self-Coup in Tunisia, DAWN MENA, 2 August 2021.
  35. ^ Political parties decry Tunisia ‘coup’ as crowds celebrate on street, TRT World, 26 July 2021.
  36. ^ Amara, Tarek; Mcdowall, Angus (26 July 2021). "Tunisian democracy in turmoil after president sacks government". Reuters. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  37. ^ "Tunisia: President extends suspension of parliament". Deutsche Welle. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  38. ^ "Tunisia's president to ignore parts of the constitution and rule by decree". The Guardian. Reuters. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  39. ^ "Tunisia president names Najla Bouden as country's first female PM". rfi.fr. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  40. ^ Amara, Tarek (10 October 2021). "Thousands protest against Tunisia leader with government awaited". Yahoo News. Reuters. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  41. ^ "Tunisia's president calls constitutional referendum followed by elections in 2022". The Guardian. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  42. ^ "قيس سعيد يقرر الابقاء على تعليق مجلس النواب الى تاريخ اجراء انتخابات واستفتاء يوم 25 جويلية وانتخابات تشريعية يوم 17 ديسمبر 2022". 13 December 2021.
  43. ^ "Tunisie: Le chef de l'Etat annonce l'organisation des élections législatives anticipées". Espace Manager (in French). 13 December 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  44. ^ "Tunisian judiciary refers 19 people to trial for 'electoral crimes'". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  45. ^ Amara, Tarek (6 February 2022). "Tunisian president dissolves Supreme Judicial Council". reuters.com.
  46. ^ "Tunisia judicial body will be reformed, not dissolved: Gov't". Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera. AL Jazeera and News Agencies. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  47. ^ "Tunisian judges, lawyers protest president's dissolution of key courts watchdog". France 24. France 24. News Wires. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  48. ^ "Tunisia: President issues decree to create new judicial watchdog". Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera. AL Jazeera and News Agencies. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  49. ^ "Tunisian president announces constitutional referendum, sets new election date". France 24. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  50. ^ Sands, Leo; Murphy, Matt (27 July 2022). "Tunisia referendum: Voters give president near unchecked power". BBC News. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  51. ^ "Tunisian Opposition Calls for President to Step Down After Low Voter Turnout". Wsj.com. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  52. ^ "Tunisia issues international arrest notice against former president Marzouki". France 24. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  53. ^ "Tunisia judge orders arrest of former prime minister". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  54. ^ "Tunisian ex-PM Jebali arrested on suspicion of money laundering". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  55. ^ "Arrest of officials, politicians in Tunisia raises controversy - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  56. ^ Cordall, Simon Speakman (23 February 2023). "Tunisia's president calls for halt to sub-Saharan immigration amid crackdown on opposition". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  57. ^ "Tunisian president says influx of sub-Sahara African migrants must end". France 24. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  58. ^ "Racist rhetoric by Tunisian president sparks fear among migrants and Black Tunisians". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  59. ^ "African Union condemns Tunisia's 'hate speech' against migrants". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  60. ^ "Crackdown on Black Africans Fuels Attacks and Rebuke in Tunisia". Bloomberg.com. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  61. ^ "What's behind the surge in migrant arrivals to Italy?". AP News. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  62. ^ Cordall, Simon Speakman (18 July 2023). "Tunisia anti-fake news law criminalises free speech: Legal group". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  63. ^ "تونس: مرسوم رئاسي يقضي بالسجن 5 سنوات لكل من ينشر "أخبارا كاذبة" أو "إشاعات"" [Tunisia: Presidential Decree Imposing a Five-Year Imprisonment for Anyone Who Spreads "False News" or "Rumours"]. فرانس 24 / France 24 (in Arabic). 17 September 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  64. ^ "Présidentielle 2019 : Biographie de Kais Saied, vainqueur du premier tour". Webdo (in French). 16 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  65. ^ "'L'Algérie décerne la médaille de l'ordre du mérite national à Kais Saied". Webdo (in French). 3 February 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  66. ^ "Mahmoud Abbas décore Kaïs Saïed de la plus haute distinction palestinienne". businessnews (in French). 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  67. ^ "'Conferimento Dottorato di ricerca honoris causa al Presidente della Repubblica Tunisina Kaïs Saïed'".
  68. ^ "'Kaïs Saïed reçoit le secrétaire général de la Ligue arabe'". L'Economiste Maghrébin (in French). 5 April 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  69. ^ "'رئيس الجمهورية يتسلم الدرع التذكاري لمجلس وزراء الداخلية العرب'".
  70. ^ "'Kaïs Saïed reçoit le président de l'Organisation arabe du tourisme'".
  71. ^ "كتبها بخط يده.. رسالة سعيّد للجملي تثير مواقع التواصل (شاهد)". عربي21 (in Arabic). 16 November 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  72. ^ نت, العربية (16 November 2019). "بالصورة.. رسالة من الرئيس التونسي تشعل مواقع التواصل". العربية نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 3 January 2020.

External links

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Political offices
Preceded by President of Tunisia
2019–present 		Incumbent