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Union protests in Tunisia
On Thursday, one of the largest political demonstrations in recent years took place in Tunisia’s capital Tunis. According to media reports, between 2,000 and 3,500 people went out onto the streets to protest against President Kais Saied and support the national trade union center Union générale tunisienne du travail (UGTT). The rally began in front of the UGTT headquarters on Mohamed Ali Square and proceeded along the Avenue Habib Bourguiba. In his speech, UGTT General Secretary Noureddine Taboubi warned of increasing threats and campaigns against the union and called for due processes and the release of political prisoners. Security forces prevented further people from joining the protest.
The demonstration is part of a series of clashes that have significantly exacerbated tensions between the government and the union in recent weeks. On Monday, Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzari announced the end of the so-called union leave – a practice that has existed since 1956 which allows civil servants to take time off work for union activities while receiving their full salary. Zenzari said the regulation was illegal and gave certain state employees an unfair advantage. The decision came just one day after the UGTT called for protests.
Previously, on 7 August, a demonstration by Saied supporters took place in front of the UGTT headquarters, accusing the union of corruption and demanding its dissolution. The UGTT called it an organised attack. President Saied defended the protests and demanded the disclosure of financial records. Analysts see this as indirect legitimisation of the protest and a further step towards publicly delegitimising the UGTT.
The conflicts between the government and the UGTT come at a time of growing socio-economic tensions. Tunisia is struggling with high inflation, rising unemployment, supply shortages and growing public debt. At the end of July, a three-day strike by the General Transport Federation, which is affiliated with the UGTT, paralysed large parts of the country. Since mid-May, talks between the government and the UGTT on raising the minimum wage and increasing salaries in the public sector have been on hold, even though existing agreements are set to expire this year. The political situation also remains tense. Since Saied assumed power in July 2021, he has been ruling in an increasingly authoritarian manner. The 2022 and 2024 elections took place with the opposition largely excluded. In early July, several prominent opposition politicians, including Rached Ghannouchi and former Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, were sentenced to long prison terms. Human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned against arbitrary detentions and restrictions on freedom of expression and the press.
With over 700,000 members, the UGTT is the largest national trade union center in the country and has been an important political force since its foundation in 1946. As part of the ‘National Dialogue Quartet’, it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 for its mediating role in Tunisia’s political transition after the Arab Spring. In recent years, however, the union has also lost support. Observers point to internal criticism of the leadership, partly due to the extension of mandates. Nevertheless, many see Thursday’s demonstration as proof that the union can still mobilise support and remains a significant player in the political landscape. How the relationship between the government and the union will develop in the coming weeks remains to be seen. Observers see the current conflict as a possible landmark for both the future role of the UGTT and the political dynamics in the country.
Summit meeting of SADC leaders in Antananarivo
On Sunday, the 45th summit of heads of state and government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) took place in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo. Madagascar’s President, Andry Rajoelina, took over the rotating chairmanship from his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was appointed as the incoming chair for 2026. The current SADC Executive Secretary, Elias Magosi, was confirmed by the summit for a second and final four-year term.
In accordance with the summit’s motto, ‘Advancing Industrialisation, Agricultural Transformation, and Energy Transition for a Resilient SADC,’ the summit focused on measures to strengthen industrial capacities, promote regional value chains, modernise agriculture, and implement a just energy transition. By 2030, intraregional trade is to increase from the current eleven per cent to 30 per cent in order to reduce dependence on external partners. To achieve this, Executive Secretary Magosi called for the consistent implementation of the SADC Protocol on Trade, which commits the 16 member states to creating a free trade area, liberalising trade in services and strengthening investment. Magosi also emphasised the importance of agriculture for the region’s economic independence and resilience: the sector currently contributes around 33 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and provides an income for 62 per cent of the population, yet in 2024 almost 60 million people were affected by food insecurity.
The summit’s closing document sets out a number of economic policy resolutions. These include an amendment to the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment containing new anti-money laundering provisions, and a call for the rapid establishment of a Regional Development Fund to strengthen economic resilience, promote sustainable development and mobilise long-term investment. In addition, geopolitical and security issues were also addressed, such as the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and the Western Sahara question. The summit reaffirmed its solidarity with the people of Western Sahara in their quest for self-determination and emphasised the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2025 between SADC and Western Sahara/Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
In his opening speech, President Rajoelina outlined five priorities for his one-year term in office, including regional cohesion, collective negotiations with international partners, particularly with regard to the upcoming AGOA negotiations with the United States, prioritising security and stability, accelerating regional industrial and energy projects, and transforming agriculture to ensure food sovereignty in the region.
Madagascar is assuming the SADC chairmanship for the first time since joining 20 years ago. Between 2009 and 2014, the country was suspended following Rajoelina’s military-backed overthrow of President Marc Ravalomanana. Rajoelina returned to power through elections in 2018 and was confirmed in disputed elections in 2023. Former presidents Ravalomanana and Hery Rajaonarimampianina issued a joint statement criticising the holding of the summit in view of the political and economic situation. Observers also point out that protests in the country are increasingly being restricted. In this context, the hosting of the summit is seen by some as a strategic move by Rajoelina to strengthen Madagascar’s regional role and consolidate his own position.
In other news
The African Union (AU) officially announced its support for the ‘Correct the Map’ campaign initiated by Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa. The campaign calls for the widespread Mercator world map to be replaced by the Equal Earth map projection developed in 2018, as the former does not accurately reflect the size of Africa. Originally developed for navigation, the Mercator map enlarges regions near the poles, while making areas near the equator, such as Africa and South America, appear significantly smaller. This distorted image influences the media, education, and politics, and contributes to Africa’s marginalization in the global perception, explained Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission. The map falsely conveys that Africa is small and insignificant, even though it is the second-largest continent and home to over a billion people. The demand for a realistic representation goes hand in hand with the AU’s goal of reclaiming Africa’s rightful place on the world stage, Haddadi continued. The debate about replacing the Mercator projection is not new, but has been reactivated by the campaign. Accordingly, the initiators are calling for wider use of the Equal Earth map in schools and international organizations. Upon request, a spokesperson for the World Bank explained that their static maps are already based on newer projections such as Equal Earth or Winkel-Tripel, and that the use of Mercator in web maps will be phased out gradually.