Tunisia's long road to a new government
There are concerns that political bickering between Tunisia’s main parties will obstruct parliament’s vote of confidence on the government of Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh.
Nearly five months following Tunisia’s Oct. 5 parliamentary elections, the country is still struggling to form a government. Prime Minister-designate Elyes Fakhfakh finally submitted his list of proposed ministers to President Kais Saied, and parliament is to vote on the Cabinet lineup Feb. 26. But even now the bitter political wrangling has not subsided, raising questions about whether parliament will vote in this government and avoid the risk of fresh elections.
On Jan. 10, the previous prime minister-designate, who had been nominated by Ennahda, lost his confidence vote. Habib Jemli's very long list of some 43 technocratic ministers was rejected by 140 votes out of 219, and Tunisia found itself once again in political limbo, with outgoing Prime Minister Yousef Chahed holding the fort.
