Tunisia president replaces key ministers in sweeping reshuffle

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Sunday replaced various ministers, including from the foreign and defence portfolios, the Tunisian presidency said in a statement posted on Facebook without explanation.

The abrupt reshuffle replaced 19 ministers and three state secretaries who assist ministers, just days after Saied sacked the former prime minister.

"This morning, August 25, 2024, the President of the Republic has decided to make a governmental change," said the statement, without further detail.

The move comes as the North African country readies for presidential elections on October 6.

Saied, 66, was democratically elected in 2019 but orchestrated a sweeping power grab in 2021.

He is now seeking a second presidential term as part of what he has said was "a war of liberation and self-determination" aiming to "establish a new republic".

But while he is running for office, a number of his political opponents and critics are currently in jail or being prosecuted.

Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tunisian authorities "have prosecuted, convicted or imprisoned at least eight prospective candidates" for the October vote.

The North African country under Saied was "gearing up for a presidential election amid increased repression of dissent and free speech, without crucial checks and balances on President Saied's power", HRW added.

Earlier this month, Abir Moussi, an opposition figure who has been in jail since October, was sentenced to two years in prison under a "false news" law, days after she reportedly submitted her presidential candidacy via her lawyers.

Other jailed would-be candidates include Issam Chebbi, leader of the centrist Al Joumhouri party, and Ghazi Chaouchi, former head of the social-democratic party Democratic Current, both held for "plotting against the state".

"After jailing dozens of prominent opponents and activists, Tunisian authorities have removed almost all serious contenders from the presidential race, reducing this vote to a mere formality", said Bassam Khawaja, HRW's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Only two candidates -- former member of parliament Zouhair Maghzaoui, 59, and Azimoun leader Ayachi Zammel -- were pre-selected to run against Saied.

On Wednesday, local media said a court in the capital Tunis ordered the pre-trial detention of the treasurer of the Azimoun party, which Zammel leads, for "falsifying" signatures.

It remains unclear whether this would affect Zammel's candidacy.

So far, 14 presidential hopefuls have been barred from challenging Saied, after Tunisia's election board said they weren't able to collect enough ballot signatures.

Several would-be candidates have been accused of forging these signatures, with some being sentenced to prison.

Some hopefuls have also said they were unofficially barred from running because authorities refused to give them a copy of a clean criminal record, which is needed by candidates.

In early August Saied sacked prime minister Ahmed Hachani without explanation and replaced him with social affairs minister Kamel Madouri, the presidency announced at the time.

- Fired, then hired -

Among the appointees named on Sunday:

Mohamed Ali Nafti, who was previously secretary of state to the foreign ministry before Saied fired him in 2021. He is the new foreign affairs minister.

Nafti is a former diplomat who worked at several Tunisian embassies including in Greece, Spain, and South Korea, is foreign affairs minister.

Khaled Shili, also a former foreign ministry official and diplomat, has been appointed as the new defence minister.

He previously served as ambassador to Jordan.

The three new state secretaries will assist the foreign minister, the agriculture and water resources minister, and the minister of employment, according to the presidency's statement.

Unemployment in Tunisia stands at 16 percent, while the country suffers from water stress amid its sixth year of drought.