Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid has announced the formation of a coalition government of 27 ministers and 14 secretaries of state, including members of the Islamist Ennahda Party.
In a press conference held on Monday in the capital, Tunis, Essid said that the government included an expansion in its composition to include other parties including the Ennahda Party and the liberal Afek Tounes Party.
He explained that the expansion of the government structure came in the framework of his keenness to enhance government efficiency and effectiveness, and to scrutinise its programmes in the future.
Essid added that his government would seek is to intensify efforts and start working immediately so as to address urgent issues and confront challenges in all fields and sectors. He noted that the government’s team will be in a race against time and cannot waste time.
Essid’s new government comprises seven ministers and secretaries of state from the Nidaa Tounes movement, three secretaries of state from Ennahda, three ministers from the Afek Tounes Party and three ministers from the Free Patriotic Union party, as well as independent figures and others with partisan backgrounds.
This combination also maintained 26 names of ministers and secretaries of state from the old line-up that was announced on 23 January.
The current government includes three female ministers and five state secretaries.
Earlier, the Tunisian official news agency quoted a source close to Essid as saying that the new government’s composition will be presented to parliament for a vote of confidence on Wednesday.
A number of parties, including Ennahda, Afek Tounes and the left-wing Popular Front, decided to cast a no-confidence vote following the announcement of the previous government line-up. This forced Essid to undergo a new round of negotiations in order to make adjustments to the previous line-up and expand it to become a “coalition government” that includes a variety of liberal and Islamic parties.