Tunisian Parliament Votes Wednesday on New Govt.

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 03:03 pm

The Tunisian parliament has set Wednesday a date to vote over Elias Fakhfakh’s government, which will see three new ministerial portfolios. The new cabinet will be composed of 30 ministers and a secretary of state.

Fakhfakh announced that after months of consultations an agreement was reached with political parties, on top of them Ennahda Movement, which ruled out the option of early elections.

The government should garner an absolute majority (50 percent + 1) in order to get the parliament’s confidence. The agreement has made this possible.

Fakhfakh said that the government will be formed of a coalition that represents political diversity and is open to all intellect and all political parties. Among key tasks of Fakhfakh’s government is to resume economic reforms and reinforce growth that shrank to 1 percent in 2019.

Observers say that the new government is likely to get a minimum of 124 votes from blocs that back the government. These blocs are Ennahda (54 votes), Democratic Current (41 votes), Tahya Tounes (14 votes), and National Reform bloc (15 votes).

The government would garner 162 votes if Heart of Tunisia party voted in its favor. However, its spokesman Sadiq Jabnoun said his party will be in opposition, which means that it will not grant confidence.

For his part, Tunisian analyst Burhan Bseis said Fakhfakh’s government is political since the portfolios were distributed according to forces’ weights.

Regarding the government’s future approaches, a member of the negotiating team of prime minister-designate Fathi El-Tawzy affirmed that the program of the government will prioritize reforming the government’s structure and restoring the Tunisian state dignity.