Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi dismissed five ministers in his Cabinet on Monday amid a growing political standoff and protests about the country's deteriorating economy.
The ministers of justice, agriculture, industry, youth, and real estate affairs were the casualties of Mr Mechichi’s decision as he locked horns with President Kais Saied over his Cabinet reshuffle last month.
He has yet to announce their successors and asked other ministers to cover the vacant posts.
The Tunisian parliament voted on January 26 in favour of 11 new ministers put forward by Mr Mechichi in a Cabinet reshuffle.
But the president said he was not consulted and considered the reshuffle to be unconstitutional.
He accused some of the chosen ministers of being implicated in corruption cases and of having conflicts of interest.
It is not clear whether the sacked ministers are among the names flagged up by Mr Saied.
The North African country has been witnessing growing public anger over what protesters say are broken government promises to provide work and improve living conditions.
In November last year, Mr Mechichi's government promised to create hundreds of jobs and a fund to launch economic projects in impoverished cities after talks with leaders from the powerful Tunisian General Labour Union.
Tunisia was hailed as the success story of the Arab uprisings for the progress it made in sustaining democracy and human rights, but it has struggled for the past 10 years to revive its economy and deal with a growing sense of frustration and alienation in the street.
The country has been led by eight governments since the fall of long-time leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, but the issues affecting a large section of society have barely changed.
