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Tunisia (Tunisia), Dec. 23 (AP) – Supporters of the Tunisian Islamist movement’s Ba’ath party demonstrated Friday in front of the capital’s justice ministry, condemning the arrest of a senior leader suspected of involvement in sending Tunisians to fight. extremists in Syria.
Protesters demanded the release of Baath Party vice president and former prime minister Ali Lalayed, saying the arrest earlier this week was politically motivated.
They say it is part of President Keith Saeed’s efforts to sideline popular movements and distract public attention from his political troubles.
The protests come amid rising political tensions in Tunisia. Only 11 percent of voters turned out in the first round of legislative elections on Sunday as many parties and voters resisted Saeed’s efforts to reshape the political system.
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When Saeed disbanded the Ba’ath party last year, it was the largest party in Tunisia’s previous parliament. The president called for elections to create a new, weaker legislature, which he said would resolve the North African country’s protracted economic and political crisis.
A day after the vote, a counter-terrorism judge ordered Ali Larayedh, a former prime minister and Baath Party vice-president, to be jailed. The decision is linked to a wider case involving other Baath Party officials.
During Saturday’s demonstration in Tunisia, protesters chanted for Lalayed’s release and the president’s resignation. The police locked them behind metal fences.
“The fact that 90 percent of voters abstained shows that this is a negation of the political process initiated by President Saeed. It is the beginning of the end of this process,” Ennahda leader Noureddine Bhiri told The Associated Press.
“Saeed now has no choice but to resign and call for early presidential elections to protect the country from instability that could affect the entire region,” he said.
Ba’ath officials promised further demonstrations in January.
Saeed dismissed criticism of low turnout in Sunday’s election, saying the most important measure would be the results of the second round of voting on Jan. 19.
Tunisia is seen as a model of democracy in the region after protesters toppled an authoritarian leader in 2011 and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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