Tunisia's Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh to reshuffle Cabinet

An independent MP published documents last month indicating the prime minister owns shares in companies that had won government deals

Tunisia's Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh tendered his resignation on Wednesday evening. Reuters

Tunisia's Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh said on Monday he will conduct a Cabinet reshuffle in the coming days amid a row with the moderate Ennahda party, in what appears to be a step to remove Ennahda ministers in the government.

Ennahda said on Monday that it wanted a new government. The current coalition, it said, had lost credibility due to allegations of conflicts of interest involving Mr Fakhfakh.

An independent MP published documents last month indicating that the prime minister owns shares in companies that had won deals worth $15 million (Dh55m) from the state.

Mr Fakhfakh has denied he did anything improper. He has promised to step down if investigators find wrongdoing.

With Mr Fakhfakh's announced Cabinet reshuffle, Ennahda may find itself out of power for the first time in six years. Ennahda was the main player in most governments after the 2011 revolution that ended the rule of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Uprising.

Unlike the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Ennahda avoided attempts by its opponents to isolate it and then shared power with secular competitors in 2014.

Mr Fakhfakh's decision will increase the political conflict in the country, which is experiencing a tense situation in parliament and the government formed only five months ago.

At least five Tunisian parties plan to launch a vote of no confidence in parliamentary speaker Rached Ghannouchi who has been accused of partisan interests.

Mr Fakhfakh strongly criticised Ennahda, saying that Ennahda’s calls breached governmental solidarity and continued to paint a picture of crisis only for its partisan interest.

Ennahda officials were not available to comment.

Coronavirus around the Middle East 

A staff member assembles a 3D-printed face shield made under the Glia project, which produces low-cost medical supplies for impoverished regions, in Gaza City. AFP

A mask-clad child sells watermelons in the Askar Palestinian refugee camp, east of the West Bank city of Nablus. AFP

A resident of the Askar Palestinian refugee camp, east of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, washes a horse. AFP

Sundanese refugee Ayat Mohamed’s sick father sits on a wheelchair at their home in Ain Shams district, amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease in Cairo, Egypt. Reuters

A vendor works at Al Sadriya Market in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, known for its fresh fruit and vegetable stands. AFP

Mask-clad residents of the Askar Palestinian refugee camp, east of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, gather in an alley. AFP

A man rides a bicycle near the Marmara sea in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkish authorities have now allowed the reopening of restaurants, cafes, parks and beaches, as well as lifting the ban on inter-city travel imposed to contain the coronavirus. EPA

A man fishes near the Marmara sea against the backdrop of Prince Islands in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA

A view of an outdoor market in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, which has reopened after the Covid-19 restrictions. AFP

A Palestinian man sells eggplants on a donkey-cart in an outdoor market which has reopened after the coronavirus lockdown in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip. AFP

An Iraqi peddler pushes his drinks cart in Al Khilani square in the capital Baghdad, as vendors return to the streets following relaxation of coronavirus measures in place since late March. AFP

Basma Mostafa, a 30-year-old journalist who founded an initiative that sends freshly home-cooked meals to quarantined coronavirus patients, writes in Arabic, 'you are not alone, we love you', on a box filled with food at a friend's apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. AP Photo

Customers enjoy drinks outside a restaurant on a strategic intersection leading into one of Beirut's neighbourhoods. AP Photo