Tunisia faces fresh political deadlock as PM Fakhfakh resigns

The Tunisian prime minister's resignation amid suspicions of conflict of interest threatens fresh political deadlock in the North African nation battling an economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Elyes Fakhfakh quit on Wednesday after less than five months in office as a row deepened with the Ennahdha party, the largest in parliament, over allegations of conflict of interest over his stake in a waste processing company that won government contracts worth 15 million euro.

"To avoid conflicts between institutions in the country, prime minister Elyes Fakhfakh has presented his resignation to President Kais Saied, in order to open a new path for him to get out of this crisis," Fakhfakh's office said in a statement.

While pleading his “integrity,” Fakhfakh acknowledged being a shareholder in the waste company while in office but said he sold his shares to a third party. Multiple investigations are under way into the affair.

Fakhfakh said he would continue doing his job until a successor is named. 

Relations between the 47-year-old outgoing premier and Ennahdha have been strained since October legislative elections.

Ennahdha earlier on Wednesday tabled a no-confidence motion against Fakhfakh, who took office in late February after winning approval from a fragmented parliament following four months of deadlock.

Ennahdha came top in the October polls but fell far short of a majority – holding 54 of 217 seats in parliament – and eventually agreed to join a coalition government.

"Ennahdha was forced to accept (a coalition government) to avoid new elections," said political analyst Chokri Bahria.

"But the party finds itself in a government with which it has difficulty dealing and in which it has little clout," he added.

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Search for a new PM

The revelations about Fakhfakh's holdings in the company led to weeks of political tensions.

His departure was a victory for the conservative Ennahdha, which had been in conflict with Fakhfakh over his refusal to expand the government to include an allied party.

Saied now has 10 days to nominate a new prime minister, according to the presidency.

Under the constitution, the president must first hold consultations with political parties. His candidate has one month to win the backing of a divided parliament.

Post-revolution

Tunisia has been praised as a rare success story for democratic transition after the Arab Spring regional uprisings sparked by its 2011 revolution.

But its leaders have struggled to meet the expectations of the Tunisian people and the already fragile economy has been battered by the closure of the country's borders due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The illness has claimed around 50 lives and infected more than 1,300 people in Tunisia.

Fakhfakh, the leader of a small social democratic party, has come under a parliamentary investigation over alleged failure to hand over control of shares he owns in private companies that have won public contracts in recent months.

"The economic and social situation is very serious and can only be overcome by a government whose head is not suspected of any conflict of interest," an Ennahdha senior official, Abdelkarim Harouni, told a news conference on Monday.