News / North Africa

Tunisia’s Ennahda to 'withdraw confidence from government'

Wednesday, 15 July 2020 5:48 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 15 July 2020 6:24 AM ]

This file photo shows Tunisia’s then-prime minister designate Elyes Fakhfakh speaking at the Assembly of People’s Representatives, in Tunis, Tunisia, on February 26, 2020. (By Reuters)

The biggest party in Tunisia’s parliament, Ennahda, has reportedly decided to withdraw confidence from the government, amid suspicions that Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh has benefited financially from government deals.

“We adopted the option to withdraw confidence from the prime minister and [that] mandates the party leader to follow up on the implementation of the decision,” Imed Khmiri, a senior official in Ennahda, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Ennahda has said previously that Prime Minister Fakhfakh has lost credibility as a result of a suspected conflict of interest.

Last month, an independent member of parliament published documents indicating that the prime minister owned shares in companies that had won deals worth 44 million dinars (15 million dollars) from the state. Fakhfakh has denied any wrongdoing, but a judge has opened an investigation into the matter.

Fakhfakh announced on Monday that he would conduct a cabinet reshuffle in the coming days, in what appeared to be a step to remove Ennahda’s six ministers from the government.

The prime minister was sworn in February after winning a confidence vote in parliament following four months of post-election deadlock.

New Tunisia government wins confidence vote in parliament

Tunisia

Ennahda needs 109 votes in parliament to withdraw confidence from the government. Its no confidence motion could make Fakhfkah’s cabinet the first government not to last six months in the North African country.

Tunisia has been beset by violence since the 2011 uprising that ousted the country’s dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and that inspired revolutions and uprisings in a host of Arab dictatorships across the Middle East and North Africa.

But Tunisia was the only among those Arab countries that enjoyed a smooth, peaceful transition to democracy.

The Tunisian economy has been grappling with problems such as a struggling tourism industry, low growth, and an overall unemployment rate of about 16 percent.

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