Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday approved a new government chosen by newly-appointed Prime Minister Najla Bouden Romdhane, reported France 24.
“The president of the Republic has issued a decree naming the head of government and its members,” the presidency said in a statement.
Prime Minister Romdhane’s selected cabinet fills a vacuum that had persisted since President Kais Saied abruptly dismissed his former cabinet and suspended parliament more than two months ago. He concentrated all executive powers in his hand, a move that his critics and constitutional lawyers have likened to a coup.
The new Cabinet of 24 ministers and a secretary of state consists of 10 women, including the prime minister. It includes Leila Jaffel, new at the Ministry of Justice, and Sihem Boughdiri Nemseya, reappointed as finance minister.
Samir Said, a banker, has been selected as economy and planning minister, Taoufik Charfeddine as interior minister, and Othman Jerandi as the foreign minister.
In her first public speech, Tunisian Prime Minister Bouden said on Monday that the new government’s main aim will be to fight corruption. She also promised to raise the living standards of Tunisians and restore their faith in the state.
“I am confident we will move from frustration to hope… I warn all who will threaten the state,” said Saied at the ceremony on Monday.
He reiterated that his decisions were constitutional in light of “imminent peril” facing Tunisia. He said he had acted to “save the Tunisian state from the clutches of those who lurk at home and abroad and from those who see their office as booty or as a means to loot public funds”.
The Tunisian president also vowed to cleanse the judiciary. He said the measures will continue for as long as the peril is real.
The appointment of a government has long been demanded by both domestic political players and foreign donors. On Sunday, thousands of Tunisians came out on the streets against President Saied’s seizure of power.
