Tunisian PM Urges President to End Dispute over New Ministers
SMA NEWS – Tunis
Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi urged President Kais Saied to set a date for the swearing-in of the new ministers, who had received the parliament’s vote of confidence.
Mechichi indicated that the sensitive security, health, economic, and social situation in the country requires functioning state institutions.
The PM also sent a letter to Saied asking him to set a date for the swearing-in ceremony, however, the president did not respond, which confirmed a major crisis between the constitutional institutions and a sharp disagreement between the two heads of the executive authority.
In January, the parliament passed a cabinet reshuffle that included 11 new ministers, but the Saied refused to approve this amendment, saying that four of the appointments were believed to be involved in corruption cases or have a conflict of interest.
Meanwhile, several political parties, led by the tripartite parliamentary alliance formed by the Islamist Ennahda Movement, continue to press for the approval of the Presidency to the reshuffle.
The alliance called upon the two leaders to abandon their rigid positions to find a solution to the deepening constitutional crisis.
Most political parties will seek the help of the leaders of the General Labor Union to reach a solution that ends the crisis, amid proposals demanding the ministers to quit.
Also, political sources close to the presidency confirmed that even if the four ministers resign, the crisis will not be solved.
They indicated that the president rejects the reshuffle because he believes the ministerial amendment procedures put forward by Mechichi violate the Tunisian constitution.
