Tunisia: Tunisian President Kais Saied announced the establishment of a long-awaited "national dialogue," excluding all political parties he considers responsible for the political and economic crisis plaguing the country.

In a speech delivered on Sunday evening on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, President Kais Saied pointed out that a committee "will manage the national dialogue," a procedure that the Group of Seven countries and the European Union have called for repeatedly since he assumed office.

Four organizations will participate: the labor union UGTT, the employers' organization UTICA, the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH), and the National Bar Association.

This is the quadruple committee that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 for its contribution to the democratic transition in Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, and was then considered the only democracy in the Arab world.

Since the summer of 2021, President Saied has monopolized all powers. At the end of March, he dissolved the parliament, which had been dominated for 10 years by coalitions led by the Islamic Ennahda Party.

In recent weeks, he also changed the composition of the Higher Judicial Council and the Supreme Independent Election Authority (ISIE).

On Sunday, the leader of the Tunisian General Labour Union, Noureddine Taboubi, made an urgent appeal to President Saied to launch the national dialogue. Taboubi said this "might be the last chance to unite national forces" and avoid the "disintegration of the state and financial and economic collapse" of the country.

The president excluded in his speech any participation in this dialogue for "those who destroyed, starved, and mistreated the people," alluding to the parties that were at the head of power, such as Ennahda.

Saied also set a referendum on constitutional amendments for July 25, before the legislative elections on December 17. According to his statement in the recent speech, the expert committee tasked with preparing the constitution of the "new republic" will complete its work soon. In addition to political stagnation, Tunisia is witnessing a serious social and economic crisis and is conducting talks with the International Monetary Fund in hopes of obtaining a new loan.