After dismissing his Prime Minister, Ahmed Hachani, on August 08, President Kaïs Saïed decided on 25 August 2024 to appoint 19 new ministers and 3 secretaries of state. At the Palais de Carthage, the Tunisian President stated that the ministerial reshuffle he had carried out was ‘essential’.
With just a few weeks to go before the presidential election in Tunisia, President Kaïs Saïed carried out a major reshuffle of ministers on August 25, 2024. The Tunisian Head of State appointed 19 new ministers, including the portfolios of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Economy, Trade and Water Resources, as well as 3 Secretaries of State.
Those who criticize the ministerial reshuffle just a few weeks before the presidential election fail to distinguish between the elections and the normal workings of the State. If the supreme interest of the country required a ministerial reshuffle even after the polls had opened, it would have been done without the slightest hesitation.
Kaïs Saïed , President of the Republic
President Kaïs Saïed affirmed that the ministerial reshuffle he had carried out was ‘indispensable’, adding that the situation had turned into an ‘open conflict between the Tunisian people, determined to achieve justice and fight corruption, and parties who have thrown themselves into the arms of foreign lobbies, dreaming of a return to the past. For the Head of State, ‘the economic and social challenges have been met, economic growth is improving, albeit slowly, and foreign currency reserves are on the rise, thanks to national choices and not foreign diktats.
Public opinion no longer understands anything today because he is in what is known as the Ministry of the Word, but the changes are not there, are not on the cards, and I think that this is a very bad plan for Tunisia, especially in an international and regional context that is quite worrying and full of certainties.
Hichem Ben YAICHE, Political analyst
This decision comes after the unexpected dismissal of Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani on August 08, 2024. According to the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), the presidential election in Tunisia is scheduled for 6 October 2024. Three candidates have been selected, including the outgoing president, Kaïs Saïed, Zouhair Maghzaoui, and Ayachi Zammel, both former MPs.
