Tunisia appoints new prime minister

Tunisia’s president has appointed Interior Minister Hichem Mechichi as the new prime minister of the country to form a new government and end months of political deadlock.

President Kais Saied on Saturday designated Mechichi to succeed Elyes Fakhfakh, who resigned over allegations of a conflict of interest.

According to Press TV, the new prime minister has one month to form a government capable of winning a confidence vote in parliament by a simple majority. If he fails, the president will dissolve parliament and call for another election.

Mechichi, 46, an independent, was not nominated for the position by any party. He served as the president’s adviser and also a member of the National Commission of Investigation on Corruption founded in 2011.

Analysts say he has no economic background at a time when international lenders are asking Tunisia to make painful reforms.

Prime Minister Fakhfakh resigned this month after a hundred lawmakers pushed for a no-confidence vote over suspicions of corruption.

Last month, an independent member of the Tunisian parliament published documents indicating that Fakhfakh owned shares in companies that had won deals worth 44 million dinars (15 million dollars) from the state.

Fakhfakh himself had been sworn in in February following four months of post-election deadlock.

Tunisia is also facing an economic crisis, which has left many Tunisians frustrated with a decline in living standards and a decay in public services amid the coronavirus pandemic. Investment Minister Slim Azzabi said earlier this month that the Tunisian economy was expected to shrink by 6.5 percent this year due to the pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has badly hit the country’s tourism sector, which contributes nearly 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and is a key source of foreign currency.

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