The future of Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid will be decided by a parliamentary vote on July 30, after the prime minister called a confidence motion in Parliament. The move follows efforts by his own party and the President Beji Caid Essebsi, during consultations and meetings with a number of parties, to force the prime minister’s resignation and form a government of national unity.

On Monday last week, after meeting the president, Habib Essid said he and President Essebsi agreed to hold a confidence motion on July 30.

The future of Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid will be decided by a parliamentary vote on July 30, after the prime minister called a confidence motion in Parliament. The move follows efforts by his own party and the President Beji Caid Essebsi, during consultations and meetings with a number of parties, to force the prime minister’s resignation and form a government of national unity.

On Monday last week, after meeting the president, Habib Essid said he and President Essebsi agreed to hold a confidence motion on July 30.

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According to article 97 of the Tunisian constitution, a no-confidence vote in Parliament can dissolve the government. The parties supporting the initiative of the Tunisian president will have to present bylaws of censure to dismiss Essid since the president is not entitled to do so because of the country’s state of emergency.

Prime Minister Essid is in a difficult position after he lost the support of Ennahda, the second largest party in Tunisia. In fact Ennahda asked Essid, via Abdel Karim Harouni, head of the Shura Council, to explicitly comply with Essebsi’s initiative and facilitate its implementation.  

“The majority is against Essid”

Ennahda’s changed stance tightened the grip around Essid, further weakening his position. “The majority is now against Habib Essid and dismissing him only needs time after resorting to Parliament,” says Salim Riahi, leader of the Free Patriotic Union, one of the four coalition partners in Essid’s government. Prime Minister Essid is insisting on resorting to Parliament to decide his fate, despite retaining slim partisan support among his partners.

A vote of non-confidence in the government requires an absolute majority of MPs (109 votes) and the presentation of an alternative candidate for the role of prime minister, whose candidacy must be approved by the same vote. The President shall entrust this candidate with the task of forming a new government.

Analysts believe the vote of no-confidence is symptomatic of a power struggle between President Essebsi and Prime Minister Essid. President Essebsi has stressed that the prime minister’s refusal to heed calls for his resignation does not mean he will cling to power.

President Essebsi’s son could be next PM

“Essebsi wants to be the only one with executive power in the country and he wants to rule alone,” said political analyst Jamal Zaran, who attributed the crisis to the clash between the heads of the executive authority that has a semi-parliamentary nature. Mohsen Marzouk, former Secretary General of Nidaa Tounes, President Essebsi’s party – from which Marzouk recently seceded, believes the government of national unity is an attempt by the Tunisian president to pave the way for his son Hafez Caid Essebsi, the executive manager of Nidaa Tounes, who has expressed ambitions to govern the country.

Others have argued that President Essebsi expected to impose a presidential system but is now trying to shoe in his son as the next leader. Qais Said, a legal expert, believes resorting to Parliament however will merely delay the current political impasse, affording Essid time to rebuild.