Tunisia: Kais Saied reshuffles cabinet
Tunisian President Kais Saied announced on August 25th that he’s reshuffling 19 ministers, according to The Arab Weekly.
The Tunisian presidency stated that Khaled Shili would be the new defense minister and Mohamed Ali Nafti would be the foreign affairs minister.
This reshuffle took place days after Saied named Kamel Maddouri as the new prime minister, replacing Ahmed Hachani. This is also just weeks before the presidential elections, which are going to take place on October 6th.
Read: Tunisia: only three candidates accepted for presidential election
The ministers of finance, justice, and the interior retained their positions. General Mustapha Ferjani, a military medical doctor, was named minister of health after serving as top presidential advisor.
Kais Saeid secured 72.71% of the vote in the second round of the 2019 elections, running on promises to fight corruption and overhaul the electoral system. However, in July 2021, he shut down the elected parliament and assumed control through rule by decree.
As he runs for office again this year, many of his political opponents are either imprisoned or facing prosecution.
The Arab Weekly and agencies
