The president of Tunisia replaces key ministers in a radical reshuffle: the presidency

Tunis, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 26th Aug, 2024) Tunisian President Kais Saied on Sunday replaced various ministers, including from the portfolios of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the Tunisian presidency said in a statement released on Facebook without explanation.

The sudden reshuffle replaced 19 ministers and three secretaries of state, just days after Saied fired the former prime minister.

“This morning, August 25, 2024, the President of the Republic decided to make a change of government,” the statement said, without further details.

The move comes as the North African country prepares for presidential elections on October 6.

Saied, 66, was democratically elected in 2019, but orchestrated a major coup in 2021.

He is now seeking a second presidential term as part of what he said was “a war of liberation and self-determination” aimed at “establishing a new republic”.

But while he is running for office, many of his political opponents and critics are currently in prison or under persecution.

Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch (HRW), a global watchdog, said Tunisian authorities “have prosecuted, convicted or imprisoned at least eight potential candidates” for the October vote.

The North African country under Saied was “preparing for a presidential election amid a growing crackdown on dissent and free speech, without crucial checks and balances on President Saied’s power,” HRW said. added

Earlier this month, Abir Moussi, a key opposition figure who has been jailed since October, was sentenced to two years in prison under a “fake news” law, days after she filed his presidential candidacy through his lawyers.

– Imprisoned candidates –

Other jailed candidates are Issam Chebbi, head of the centrist Al Joumhouri party, and Ghazi Chaouchi, head of the social democratic Democratic Current party, both detained for “plotting against the state”.

“After jailing dozens of opponents and prominent activists, the Tunisian authorities have removed almost all serious contenders from the presidential race, reducing this vote to a mere formality,” said Bassam Khawaja, HRW’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Only two candidates – former member of parliament Zouhair Maghzaoui, 59, and Azimoun leader Ayachi Zammel – have been shortlisted to run against Saied.

On Wednesday, local media reported that a court in the capital Tunis ordered the pre-trial detention of party treasurer Azimoun, which Zammel leads, for “falsifying” financial records.

It is unclear whether this will affect Zammel’s dispute.

So far, 14 presidential candidates have been prevented from challenging Saied, after Tunisia’s electoral council said they could not collect enough signatures to vote.

Many aspiring candidates were accused of forging these signatures, some were sentenced to prison.