Tunisia’s Saied close to naming new PM

Sara Rashad

Tunisian President, Kais Saied, has been under fire for more than a month and a half now, from those affected by the decisions he took on July 25.

On this day, the Tunisian leader dissolved the parliament and sacked the cabinet.

President Saied then opened corruption files in his country. He tries to address the deteriorating health situation in Tunisia where Covid-19 having a heavy toll.

The president is also close to naming a new prime minister.

He will most likely select a veteran economist for the job so that he can address the economic crisis in Tunisia.

According to Tunisian media, Central Bank Governor, Marwan Abbasi, is a potential candidate for the position.

Former finance ministers, Hakim Ben Hammouda and Nizar Yaish, are also close to the position, the Tunisian media said.

Saeed pledged earlier that the government would be formed soon.

He said his goal was to choose a prime minister who has the ability to lead his country through this critical phase.

Justified delay

Tunisian political analyst, Nizar al-Jledi, said the selection of a prime minister is far from easy in a country like Tunisia.

“This is true in the light of the hefty mission of the next prime minister,” Jledi told The Reference.

He added that the enormity of the challenges facing Tunisia at the present makes it necessary for the president to make a careful selection of the person who will lead the government in the coming period.

Best governor in 2019

Abbasi has a PhD in economics from the University of Paris I, Pantheon-Sorbonne. He has been a World Bank senior economist since January 2008.

In 2012, Abbasi was appointed as the Director of the World Bank’s office in Libya. He worked previously as a senior advisor at the Arab Institute for Business Managers.

He also worked as an economic advisor to the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Handicrafts in charge of implementing the World Bank-financed export development project.