Tunisian President Kais Saied with his Prime Minister Ahmed El Hachani at Carthage Palace (Presidency of the Tunisian Republic)

Tunisia -

Reactions varied regarding the dismissal of Tunisian President Kais Saied of a number of senior officials, including: the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Culture, and the governors of the cities of Monastir and Mahdia. Some analysts see their dismissal as an attempt to cover up his failure, while others said that the purpose of their dismissal was to inject new blood into the government. .

This came after a surprise field visit carried out by the president last Tuesday to the train depot in the capital, after which he decided to dismiss the Minister of Transport, Rabie Al-Majidi. Qais appeared angry during his conversation with an official at the depot, as a result of neglecting to maintain the cars, many of which turned into iron rubble.

On the same day, the Tunisian President also decided to dismiss the Minister of Culture, Hayat Qatat Al-Qarmazi, and it appears that her dismissal was planned for her after the unannounced field visit he made to a number of cultural facilities in the old city of the capital. Qais was also angry about missing out on one of the historical monuments to an investor.

The dismissals continued yesterday, Wednesday, to include the governors of the cities of Monastir and Mahdia, located in the center of the country, following Saied’s meeting with the Minister of Interior, the Director General of National Security, and the Director General, Commander of the National Gendarmerie, during which Saied expressed his refusal to allow officials to remain behind their offices without assuming their responsibility.

Before that, specifically on February 7, the Director General of Customs, Najat Al-Omrani Al-Jawadi, was dismissed by order of the Minister of Finance, but observers believe that the decision to dismiss came directly from President Saied, for reasons that remained ambiguous, but were related to the performance of the Director General of Customs.

Lack of transparency

The Presidency of the Tunisian Republic did not explain the reasons and motives for these dismissals, contenting itself with announcing them either in the midst of President Saied’s meetings at Carthage Palace with some of his ministers, or after sudden field visits by the President in a number of regions and fields.

The leader of the Democratic Current Party, Hisham Al-Ajbouni, told Al Jazeera Net, “Tunisia lives within a framework of individual rule in which there is no transparency in dealing with public opinion,” noting that “Tunisians do not know what criteria the president adopts, whether in appointing or dismissing his ministers.”

But he believes that “President Saied is seeking, through the dismissal campaign, to cover up his failure to run the country, and to try to convince Tunisians that he is not responsible for the failure of the dismissed ministers, despite his choosing them in his government,” criticizing the appointment of his ministers from the core of the administration, which he said was “bureaucratic and calcified.” .

Al-Ajbouni believes that President Saied’s dismissal of a number of his ministers “reflects his failure to choose appropriate and competent officials,” pointing to the poor performance of Prime Minister Ahmed Al-Hachani, who said that he “was not able to represent Tunisia’s image well abroad, especially after his recent visit to France and Algeria.” ".

The party leader says, "The president has ruled with absolute powers since he announced his exceptional measures on July 25, 2021, but all numbers and indicators confirm that Tunisia is floundering in a stifling economic, financial, and social crisis, which proves the failure of his policies and choices."

Meaningless exemptions

On the other hand, Secretary-General of the Popular Current Party, Zuhair Hamdi, one of the politicians supporting President Kais Saied’s path, said, “Dismissing ministers and appointing others in their place has no meaning if the general choices and policies of the state itself continue, without presenting a new alternative to improve the general situation.” .

He added to Al Jazeera Net that "dismissing individuals without changing options and policies is something that many previous regimes have done without achieving any progress in results," noting that "ministers in the end are merely officials who implement policies, so simply dismissing them will not solve the problem."

Hamdi acknowledges the existence of many shortcomings and failures in resolving economic and social issues, and issues related to difficult living conditions, noting that “the president achieved some political reforms, but those reforms did not keep pace with what should be done to improve living conditions.”

Political activist Ahmed Al-Kahlawi told Al-Jazeera Net, "Dismissing ministers is at the core of the powers of any president in a presidential system," and adds, "There is no blame on President Kais Saied for making changes to his government team, if it becomes clear through his evaluation that there are shortcomings or failure."

He believes that "the purpose of these dismissals is to appoint officials who are more competent and capable of improving the conditions of Tunisians," and he considered that "President Saied seeks, through his course, to improve the country's conditions, which have deteriorated as a result of widespread corruption and the sabotage that befell it by those who previously ruled."

Consecutive dismissals

After President Kais Saied changed the country's constitution on July 25, 2022, he transformed the system of government from parliamentary to presidential, giving himself broad powers to appoint and dismiss members of the government, determine the country's general policies, and appoint and dismiss judges, which made the opposition accuse him of monopolizing power.

The cycle of dismissals began on January 7, 2023, when Kais Saied dismissed Trade Minister Fadela Al-Rabhi, before a few days later he dismissed Education Minister Fathi Al-Salouti and Agriculture Minister Mohamed Elias Hamza, then Foreign Minister Othman Al-Jarandi was dismissed a month later.

The dismissals also included the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Nasr al-Din al-Nasibi, on February 23, 2023. Then it was the turn of the Minister of Interior, Tawfiq Sharaf al-Din, whose dismissal from the presidency of the Tunisian Republic was announced a few hours after the minister announced his resignation from his position.

At the beginning of August 2023, Saied dismissed his Prime Minister, Najla Boudin, appointing in her place Ahmed Al-Hashani as the new Prime Minister, and on October 17, 2023, a presidential statement announced the dismissal of President Saied, Minister of Economy and Planning, Samir Saied, without giving reasons. Observers said, “The dismissal came As a result of his defense of the necessity of resorting to borrowing from the International Monetary Fund,” something Saeed opposes.

Source: Al Jazeera