Tunisian president dismisses Prime Minister Najla Buden

2023-08-02 02:13:12

Saied names as successor Ahmed al Hashani, formerly manager of legal affairs at the Tunisian Central Bank

MADRID, 2 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The President of Tunisia, Kais Saied, on Tuesday dismissed the Prime Minister, Najla Buden, appointed less than two years ago, when she became the first woman to hold the position in the country’s history.

“Saied has decided on the night of this Tuesday, August 1, 2023, to end the functions of Najla Buden as head of government and appoint Ahmed al Hashani to succeed her.

The Tunisian Presidency has shared some images in which Saied supervises the inauguration of what will be the new head of government, to whom the president wishes success “in this responsibility that corresponds to him in this particular circumstance.”

“There are great challenges that we must face with firm determination and a strong will to preserve our homeland, our State and civil peace within society,” Saied said in a short speech collected by the Tunisian news agency TAP.

For his part, Al Hashani, who previously held the position of general manager of legal affairs at the Central Bank of Tunisia, has called “to preserve the State and the harmony and integration of the institutions”, stressing that “the Tunisian State is one and we must preserve it and attend to the demands of the people”.

Saied has promoted since July 2021 a series of measures to reform the political system of Tunisia, including a constitutional referendum, approved in the midst of the opposition boycott, which reinforces the powers of the Presidency. The opposition has denounced an authoritarian drift of the president and has demanded his resignation.