Sharjah24 – Reuters: Tunisia's President Kais Saied on Saturday indicated he was preparing to change the country's constitution, but said he would only do so using existing constitutional means, seven weeks after he seized powers in moves his foes called a coup.
The comments represented his clearest statement yet about what he intends to do next, having sworn there was "no going back" to the situation in the North African nation before his intervention on July 25.
Speaking live on television in a central Tunis boulevard, Saied said he respected the 2014 democratic constitution but that it was not eternal and could be amended.
"Amendments must be made within the framework of the constitution," he told the Sky News Arabia channel and Tunisian state television.
Anxiety has been growing, both internally and among Western democracies that have supported Tunisia's public finances, over Saied's intentions since his July 25 announcement that he was sacking the prime minister and suspending parliament.
Though he indefinitely extended the measures after a month, he has yet to appoint a new government or make any clear declaration of his long-term intentions, as Tunisia struggles to confront a rolling economic crisis.
Saied also said on Saturday he was close to naming a new government. Ambassadors from the Group of Seven advanced economies this week urged him to quickly do so and return to "a constitutional order, in which an elected parliament plays a significant role."
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