Tunisia Risks Early Parliamentary Elections as Government Formation Stalls

Tunisian President Kais Saied said the country faces risk of early parliamentary elections if the line-up proposed by designate Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh fails to win parliamentary majority.

Fakhfakh’s line-up was rejected by the biggest parties in the country, including Ennahda, an islamist party with the largest parliamentary representation.

“Ennahdha’s decision will put the country in a difficult situation,” said Fakhfakh.

Heart of Tunisia, the second biggest party, also said it would not back the government after Fakhfakh excluded it from the coalition.

Fakhfakh, a former finance minister, was tasked by Tunisia’s president with forming a government after a previous list proposed by Ennahdha’s nominee for Prime Minister, Habib Jemli, was rejected by Parliament in a confidence vote last month.

This comes as the Tunisian economy struggles with debt and unemployment amid surge in insecurity in its borders with Libya.

Saied, a political independent, was elected last October as president.