Tunisia's designated PM Fakhfakh vows to combat poverty, social ills

Tunisia's newly designated Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh has vowed to tackle economic and social ills in the country. President Kais Saied on Monday announced his choice for the new Prime Minister, giving him a month to secure a majority in the deeply fragmented Tunisian parliament. After President Saied announced his choice, Fakhfakh said that he would form a smaller cabinet than his predecessor and combat poverty and marginalisation of poorer regions. 

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Fakhfakh was born in the capital city of Tunis and has served as the Minister of Tourism under Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali in 2011. He went on to become the Finance Minister of the country in 2012 and successively assisted two ministers of state. According to international media reports, Fakhfakh said that he would try and meet the aspirations of the 2011 revolution that introduced democracy in the country. 

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Ennahda party won 52 seats

According to media reports, President Saied in November asked Habib Jemli to form the new government, whose party Ennahda Movement gained the largest number of seats in the legislative elections on October 6. However, on January 10, Members of Parliament objected to his candidature and said they had no confidence in the government that Jemli put together. In the 217-seat parliament, Ennahda party won 52 seats, while Heart of Tunisia won 38 and Democratic Current won 22. 

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On January 18, President Saied met three candidates for the position of the Prime Minister that included former Minister of Finance Hakim Ben Hammouda, former Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation Mohammed Fadhel Abdelkefi, and former Minister of Finance Elyes Fakhfakh. President also met three women for the position. According to the Tunisian constitution, the president shall hold consultations with the parties, parliamentary blocs, and alliances within 10 days if the winning party in the elections doesn't have the trust of the parliament. 

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