Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh presented his resignation on Wednesday April 15 to President Kaïs Saïed, after Ennahdha, the main party in the Tunisian Parliament, said the day before that he wanted to withdraw his confidence from him.  

Ennahdha "has decided to withdraw confidence from Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh, and instructs the leader of the party, Rachid Ghannouchi, to implement this decision by carrying out consultations with various blocs and deputies," the party said on Wednesday. Islamist inspiration in a press release.

Such a motion of no confidence can only succeed if Parliament simultaneously trusts another Prime Minister. Ennahdha said he started negotiations to propose one likely to convince the majority of deputies, a challenge given the fragmentation of Parliament. Despite being the main parliamentary bloc, the party only has 54 seats out of 217 in the Assembly. 

Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh is under investigation by a parliament. He is accused of not having ceded the management of his shares in sanitation companies which have won major public contracts. But for Ennahdha, it is also a question of reconfiguring a government coalition in which this formation feels "marginalized", according to political scientist Chokri Bahria.

After the sacred union around the Covid-19 pandemic, which allowed the country to successfully fight against the new coronavirus, political tensions are starting again when Tunisians are affected by the economic and social fallout from health restrictions. 

Protests have been taking place in the south of the country for weeks, demanding jobs.

With AFP

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