Tunisian PM Resigns after Failing to Form Cabinet Formation

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

Tunisian PM Resigns after Failing to Form Cabinet Formation

Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali announced his resignation on Tuesday after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.

Jebali made the announcement following a meeting with President Moncef Marzouki.

The assassination of opposition leader Chokri Belaid on Feb. 6 has plunged the country into turmoil and unleashed days of unrest.

Jebali had been trying to form a new coalition in response to the political crisis but his Islamist Ennahda party did not back his plan for a cabinet of technocrats.

"I vowed that if my initiative did not succeed, I would resign and I have done so," Jebali told a news conference.

Describing his step as "a big disappointment", he said he was standing down to "fulfil a promise made to the people." "Our people are disillusioned by the political class. We must restore confidence," he stressed.

Tunisia PM Fails to Form New Cabinet

Local Editor

Tunisia's main political parties failed to agree on forming a non-partisan cabinet to tackle the turmoil triggered following the assassination of the opposition leader Chokri Belaid, Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said on Monday.

But he said efforts would continue to form a government supported by most parties in the North African state that spawned the chain of popular uprisings against dictatorship across the Arab world two years ago.

"The initiative for a cabinet of technocrats did not receive full political consensus and has failed...But work is continuing with all parties to form a government which has the agreement of most of the political parties," Jebali told a news conference.

He spoke after a meeting with leaders of secular political parties and his own Islamist Ennahda party, which has denied any involvement in Belaid's killing.

Jebali suggested a cabinet of apolitical technocrats to help restore calm and guide Tunisia to elections. He had threatened to quit if his proposal failed but on Monday he said only: "I will meet the president tomorrow to discuss the next steps."

The political crisis has disrupted efforts to revitalize an economy that was hard-hit by the disorder that followed the overthrow of veteran strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.

Ennahda party chief Rached Ghannouchi told Reuters it was essential that Islamists and secular parties shared power now and in the future. "Any stable rule in Tunisia needs a moderate Islamist-secular coalition," he said.

Ghannouchi said Ennahda might compromise over control of portfolios such as defense, foreign affairs, justice and interior. "We are ready to discuss all ministries, including sovereign ones, in a new coalition government."

Violent protests, in which one policeman was killed, swept Tunisia after Belaid's assassination, with crowds attacking Ennahda offices in Tunis and elsewhere. Tens of thousands of people turned out for the slain leader's funeral on Friday.