The main union in Tunisia repudiates the holding of elections and threatens a general strike

MADRID, 4 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT), the most powerful union in the country, with more than a million members, has rejected the holding of the next legislative elections in the country and warned of a possible general strike within the most critical It has been hard on the president, Kais Saied, since he assumed total power last year in what his opponents have described as a self-coup.

"We are going towards elections that have no flavor or color. Elections that result from a Constitution that did not allow for consultation and that did not obtain the approval of the majority," lamented the union leader Nuredin Tabubi in a speech before thousands of supporters last Saturday about the controversial legislative elections called for the 17th of this month, boycotted among others by the Islamist Ennahda party or the opposition National Salvation Front, which brings together dozens of parties and civil organizations.

Saied's critics argue in this sense that the elections emerge from an autocratic regime and that this vote is nothing more than an excuse to consolidate his power with a weakened Parliament, all in the midst of a serious economic crisis.

The opposition, in fact, already boycotted the constitutional referendum in July, which reinforced the powers of the president and took weight away from Parliament, which was dominated by Ennahda at the time when Saied proceeded to dissolve it nearly a year and a half ago.

Tabubi has warned Prime Minister Najla Buden's government that it will fight any move that "attacks basic needs and starves people", before condemning "secret dealings" behind the scenes during ongoing aid talks with the International Monetary Fund.

"We are going to fight by all possible legitimate and militant means", has threatened the leader of a union that opposes the privatization projects of state companies that provide public services (water, electricity, transport) and the abolition of subsidies to basic food and energy products.

Tabubi has warned that "all the country's economic indicators are in the red" and criticized the Buden government for a management characterized by "indebtedness and a lack of transparency." That is why he announced his intention to convene the executive body of the UGTT "before the end of the year" to examine a series of options, including the possibility of declaring a general strike, according to statements collected by the Tunisien Numerique portal. .