By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Tunisian leader has replaced at least 19 ministers from his cabinet without offering any explanation, a development that affected key ministries, including foreign affairs and defence.
“This morning, August 25, 2024, the President of the Republic has decided to make a governmental change,” the Tunisian presidency said in a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday.
The sudden replacement which also affected three state secretaries comes days after President Kais Saied sacked the former Prime Minister ahead of presidential elections on October 6.
Saied, 66, was democratically elected in 2019, but in a sweeping power grab, he sacked the parliament, an action the opposition and critics described as coup.
The Tunisian leader who has since announced his decision to seek re-election has referred to his candidacy as part of “a war of liberation and self-determination” aiming to “establish a new republic”.
The country’s electoral body says it has tentatively cleared only three presidential candidates, including Saied for the October 6 election.
The opposition figures have accused him of orchestrating ploy to exclude serious contesters from the poll.
The commission said it had accepted the candidacies of Saied and Zouhair Magzhaoui, who is alleged to be a close ally of Saied, as well as Ayachi Zammel for the election, while rejecting 14 others.
Tunisian opposition parties and human rights groups have accused the authorities of using “arbitrary restrictions” and intimidation in order to ensure the re-election of Saied.
