TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied has dismissed prime minister Kamel Madouri, his office said on Friday, as the North African country grapples with major economic issues.
Madouri, a technocrat appointed last August as part of a cabinet reshuffle, was replaced by Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri, the former minister of public works, the presidency said.
Zaafrani, 62, becomes Tunisia’s second woman premier after Najla Bouden, who was in the post from October 2021 to August 2023.
She takes office as Tunisia also faces criticism from the United Nations over the imprisonment of Saied’s political opponents and as rights groups decry a rollback on freedoms.
In 2019 Saied became president of Tunisia, the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring.
However, since he staged a sweeping power grab in 2021, Saied has appointed four different cabinets, often expressing dissatisfaction with the government’s performance.
Deeply indebted Tunisia is mired in serious economic and financial difficulties, including sluggish growth and high unemployment.
While not commenting on Madouri’s dismissal, Saied was seen in a video posted on the presidency’s Facebook page as telling Zaafrani about the need to better coordinate “government work”.
He insisted on removing “obstacles to meet the expectations of the Tunisian people”.
The president has the authority to dismiss ministers, judges and heads of public companies.
In August 2024, Saied appointed Madouri premier.
At the time he also replaced 19 other ministers, justifying his decision by citing “the supreme interest of the state” and “national security” imperatives.
Madouri’s dismissal comes in a tense political climate, with dozens of Saied’s opponents imprisoned, some for two years, as well as businessmen and media figures.
The presidency said there were no other cabinet changes apart from Salah Zouari, who was appointed public works minister as Zaafrani’s replacement.
Bouden was the first woman to serve as Tunisia’s prime minister. She was replaced by a former central bank executive, Ahmed Hachani, who was himself replaced last summer.
In video footage released before the announcement of the change of prime minister, Saied said: “It is time that every leader be held fully accountable, regardless of their position.”
“End the abuses against citizens,“ he added in the video taken at a National Security Council meeting.
He also referred to as suspicious a series of protests and self-immolations that began in early March.
“All this coincided with the start of the trial of the accused in the conspiracy against state security case,“ Saied said of an ongoing mass trial involving a number of his opponents.
The trial began on March 4 and involves around 40 high-profile defendants including activists, politicians, lawyers and media figures, facing charges of “terrorism” and plotting against the state.
Saied’s defenders often say he has honoured his pledge to fight the corruption and inefficiency that have plagued Tunisia for decades.
However, the country’s more than 12 million people have suffered sporadic shortages of basic items including sugar and flour, and unemployment remains high.
Tunisia saw economic growth of just 1.4 percent in 2024 according to the national statistics institute.
Debt hovers at around 80 percent of GDP, compared with 67 percent before Saied took office in 2019.
Saied was re-elected in October 2024 with an overwhelming majority of more than 90 percent, in an election marked by a turnout of less than 30 percent.
In February he dismissed finance minister Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia in the middle of the night, replacing her with magistrate Michket Slama Khaldi.
