Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi has died aged 92: office

Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi has died at the age of 92, the presidency announced on Wednesday, following a number of health scares.

"Tunisian President Mohammed Beji Essebsi has passed away on 25 July, 2019 at 10:25am in the military hospital in Tunisia, may he be forgiven," the presidency said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Essebsi's son said the veteran politician had been placed in intensive care.

Essebsi, a major player in the country's transition to democracy since 2011, was hospitalised late last month and spent a week in hospital after suffering a "severe health crisis".

The president had only appeared twice since leaving the hospital on 1 July.

Hafedh Caid Essebsi, the president's son, said his father was hospitalised on Wednesday after he suffered further effects from last month's scare, confirming an earlier report on local radio.

Interim president

Essebsi had long been a prominent figure in Tunisia, particularly since the overthrow of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, which was followed by uprisings against authoritarian leaders across the Middle East, including in nearby Libya and Egypt.

Parliamentary elections are expected to be held on 6 October with a presidential vote following on 17 November.

They will be the third set of polls in which Tunisians can vote freely following the 2011 revolution.

If incapacitated, Tunisia’s constitution dictates that a temporary vacancy should be announced for Essebsi by the constitutional court, with Prime Minister Youssef Chahed serving as interim president for no longer than 60 days.

In the event of death or total incapacity, the role of interim president is passed instead to the speaker of parliament, Mohamed Ennaceur, for a period of no less than 45 days and no more than 90 days.

Though interim presidents are able to fulfil much of Essebsi’s duties, they would not be entitled to propose amendments to the constitution, call for a referendum or dissolve parliament.

However, Tunisia currently lacks a constitutional court, the body that appoints people to the role of interim president, as the country’s political class has not been able to agree on its membership.

Last month, analysts told Middle East Eye that Tunisia was unlikely to enter a political crisis in the event of Essebsi's death, with parties likely determined to carry out the upcoming elections without a hitch.

“Everyone is concerned about a vacant position. Therefore, I believe they will try to evade a crisis scenario by reaching consensus, irrespective of the presence of the constitutional court,” Tunisian political analyst Mohamed Dia Hammami told MEE.

Sharan Grewal, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, acknowledged there would be "a shroud of unconstitutionality" surrounding Ennaceur's succession.

"But I don’t think any major political player in Tunisia would have incentives to try to create a crisis," he told MEE.

"So my optimistic take would be that Tunisia soon returns to politics as usual."

MEE, Agencies