Tunisian Parliament Approves New Cabinet Of Ministers

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2021) Tunisia's parliament has approved changes in the make-up of the country's government proposed by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, state agency TAP reported.

According to the news agency, each of the 11 new ministers gained more than 109 required parliamentary votes.

Mechichi on January 16, amid a deep economic crisis and mass unemployment in the country, made reshuffles in the cabinet, replacing 11 ministers, including Interior, Health and others.

The House of People's Representatives on Tuesday night gave confidence vote to the 11 ministers.

Now the new government should be approved by President Kais Saied. However, the head of state said on Monday that the proposed reshuffle violated the country's constitution, as there were those accused of corruption among the candidates for the ministerial posts.

Protests, during which demonstrators have been criticizing the falling living standards and demanding the resignation of the government, began in mid-January in five provinces of Tunisia. In a number of cities, they were accompanied by violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces using tear gas.