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Bloomberg
Tunisia is looking to form a new government after lawmakers fired the prime minister in the latest skirmish reflecting the struggle for political stability and economic growth in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
A total of 118 of 217 lawmakers voted late Saturday in favor of a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Habib Essid. The vote sets the stage for a new national unity government sought by President Beji Caid Essebsi for weeks. Essid becomes a caretaker leader with a new prime minister named within 10 days and a government seated a month after that, according to the country’s constitution.
Essid’s government didn’t follow through on pledges to revive the economy, Ibrahim Nasfi, a lawmaker from the Nidaa Tounes party, said in an interview after the vote. While Tunisia has largely avoided the political instability and violence that ravaged Arab Spring nations such as Libya and Egypt, the gains made for democracy weren’t matched in the economy. Youth unemployment remains high despite being cited as a priority by successive governments since the 2011 ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
The challenges have been compounded a series of terrorist attacks that have battered the vital tourism industry. In May, the International Monetary Fund approved a $2.88 billion, four-year loan aimed at supporting Tunisia’s economic and financial reform program.
Opposition had been mounting to Essid, who refused to resign and vowed to take the issue to parliament. Ahead of the vote, Ennahda, a one-time moderate Islamist party that voted to keep politics and religion separate after losing seats in parliament, said it voted against him to “make way for the formation of a national unity government with a political base able to deliver” more of what Tunisians have been calling for in terms of opportunities and economic growth.