Tunisian President Saied’s absence leads to speculation over his health

Tunisian President Kais Saied has failed to appear in public for ten consecutive days, stoking speculation and rumours over his health.

His last public activity took place on 23 March, when he attended Taraweeh prayers on the first night of Ramadan at the Al-Zaytuna Mosque in the capital Tunis.

Since then, he has not taken part in any public activity, even though Tunisia is the focus of a great deal of diplomatic activity amid fears that the north African country, which has been in the midst of a severe economic crisis, will go bankrupt.

On Monday, Saied initially cancelled a scheduled meeting with the EU’s economic affairs commissioner, Paolo Gentiloni but later went ahead with a brief audience, according to Italy’s Nova news agency.

#Tunisia
President #Saied has been absent for 10 days in a row today.
The absence of justifications from his entourage opened the door to rumors that his is ailing and hospitalized.
It's PM #Bouden that presided over the cabinet meeting on Friday.#Constitution #نجلاء_بودن pic.twitter.com/cM4U73CDJz

— Mourad TEYEB (مــراد التـائـب) (@MouradTeyeb) April 1, 2023

The 65-year-old Tunisian leader won democratic presidential elections in 2019 but in 2021 launched a coup against democratic institutions, suspending parliament and sacking the prime minister.

Since then he has arrested dozens of political opponents, enacted a constitution described as “authoritarian” by rights groups, and incited racial violence against migrants from African countries south of the Sahara.

On Wednesday Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar received the letter of credentials confirming new Brazilian Ambassador Fernando Jose de Abreu, even though diplomatic protocol dictates that Saied should have been present at the ceremony.

This has led Tunisian analysts and opposition politicians to speculate on the president’s health amid unconfirmed reports of a heart attack.

Abdul Wahab Al-Hani, a political analyst, asked on Facebook, “Where has the president disappeared to? [He] has been absent for a whole week and this is out of character.”

“The president’s mini absence comes at a time of several interrelated and complicate crises – political, diplomatic, economic, and social – at a time when world leaders are making statements about the Tunisian crisis,” he added.

Several sources claimed that the Tunisian leader had suffered a heart attack, with Rafik Abdessalem, a member of the opposition Ennahda Party and former foreign minister, saying that Saied was “in a military hospital due to a heart attack”.

He added that Saied was a heavy smoker.

The Tunisian presidency has not formally addressed the speculation or given a reason for Saied’s absence.

Some social media accounts supportive of the president shared pictures of him praying in a mosque, saying they were taken on Saturday. However, no official source confirmed this.