Tunisia’s President Kais Saied is accused of restricting parliamentary powers and wanting to govern by decree. Now the head of state has appointed a new head of government.
More than two months after the head of government Hichem Mechichi was ousted, Tunisian President Kais Saied has appointed a new Prime Minister. Nejla Bouden should now quickly form a new government, the presidency said on Wednesday.
Nejla Bouden is the first woman in Tunisian history to hold the office of head of government. The 59-year-old geology professor has previously worked, among other things, as a consultant in the Ministry of Education.
Despite regular announcements that he would soon be filling the post of Prime Minister, Saied took a long time to actually implement it. Recently, however, the pressure on the president had increased to finally clear the way for a new government.
Over the weekend, thousands protested against him in the center of the capital Tunis. The largest union in the country with hundreds of thousands of members also recently warned against Saied’s expansion of his powers. This is a danger to democracy. The USA, too, repeatedly insisted on the formation of a government.
As the new head of government, Bouden has set himself one goal above all: “Our main task will be the fight against corruption,” she wrote on Twitter. Corruption is widespread in Tunisia. Many members of parliament, in particular from the Islamist Ennahda party, are also considered to be corruptible.
At the end of July, after a month-long power struggle with the government and parliament, the head of state ousted Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and suspended the work of parliament. A week ago, he also announced that he would govern by decree and change articles of the constitution that regulate the responsibilities of the legislature and the executive. In doing so, he paves the way for the expansion of his own powers.
In a phone call with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) on Wednesday, Saied was determined to implement his political reforms, as the presidency said. According to earlier statements by the head of state, this should include changes to the constitution, the system of government and the electoral law.
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
