TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia got a new government Monday after more than two months without one, with the new prime minister naming her Cabinet, which includes a record number of women.
The ministerial appointments announced by Prime Minister Najla Bouden filled a vacuum that had persisted since President Kais Saied abruptly dismissed his Cabinet and suspended Parliament 11 weeks ago, concentrating all executive powers. His critics and constitutional lawyers have likened his actions to a coup in the North African nation.
Bouden, named Sept. 29 by Saied as Tunisia’s first female prime minister, said during the swearing-in ceremony of her new ministers that their main priority would be fighting corruption.
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The new Cabinet of 24 ministers and a secretary of state has an unprecedented 10 women, including the prime minister. They include Leila Jaffel, new at the Ministry of Justice, and Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia, reappointed as finance minister.
Saied had previously promised a new government in July. But he then partially suspended the constitution on Sept. 22 and gave himself the power to rule by decree. He has argued that pandemic-hit Tunisia is in crisis and has described the measures as temporary, although he said Monday that they “will remain in force for as long as the peril is real."
Protests for and against Saied have attracted thousands of people in recent weeks. On Sunday, several thousand demonstrators gathered in central Tunis to protest Saied’s consolidation of power.
Police presence was visibly bolstered for the demonstration, and scuffles were reported on the sidelines as protesters tried to overcome barriers erected on Bourguiba Avenue, the city’s main thoroughfare. A journalist for state-run television was hospitalized after being hit with rocks and water bottles thrown by angry protesters.
Saied has said he is seeking to save the country from a deteriorating economic, political, and health crisis. Last month, he gave himself the power to rule by decree and partially suspended the 2014 constitution.
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Saied’s actions have proved widely popular among those who see him as a corruption fighter taking on the country’s much-hated political elites. But others are concerned his actions signal a return to the autocracy Tunisians revolted against in 2011, igniting what would be known as the Arab Spring.
In recent weeks, thousands of Tunisians have staged tit-for-tat demonstrations each weekend. This Sunday, the crowd was predominantly made up of middle-aged men and women, many of them supporters of Tunisia’s Islamist parties that have been sidelined by Saied’s measures.
Raja Masmoudi, a teacher at Sunday’s demonstration, said she didn’t want to see Tunisia return to a dictatorship.
“The future in Tunisia is really scary to me. For now, we don’t know what we will have as institutions. We don’t have a Parliament, we don’t have democracy in our country,” she said.
Several placards read “Save our democracy!” and “The people want the removal of the President!” One woman held a sign that read, “Ever seen a president calling his people insects?”, referring to Saied’s speech on Saturday in which he called Sunday’s demonstrators “insects” and “devils.”