Tunisian president sacks trade minister as protests continue for detained former PM

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied sacked his government’s trade minister on Friday, while Tunisians protested for the release of a former prime minister.

The Tunisian presidency shared on its Facebook page an announcement that Trade and Export Development Minister Fadila Al-Rabhi was dismissed from her position without saying why.

There has been speculation that Tunisia’s  supply crisis might have been behind the decision. It was the first sacking since Najla Bouden formed her cabinet in October 2021.

The country is currently facing a difficult economic crisis as Tunisians have been faced with repeated shortages of essential goods, as well as spiralling inflation.

The governor of Sfax was also dismissed, according to the presidency. No reasons were given for that either.

Also on Friday, dozens of people demonstrated again in the capital, Tunis, demanding the release of the country’s former prime minister, Ali Laarayedh, a member of the moderate Islamist Ennahdha party.

Tunisia's anti-terrorism judge last month decided to imprison Laarayedh on suspicion that the former PM sent jihadists to Syria.

Ennahda had denied in a statement the terrorism accusations, calling it a political attack on a foe of President Kais Saied to hide "the catastrophic failure" of last month’s election, which saw a mere 11 percent voter turnout.

"Loyal to the blood of the martyrs" and "Down with the coup" – in reference to Saied’s power grab in July 2021 - were some of the slogans chanted during Friday’s demonstration.

Participants told reporters that the opposition in Tunisia was "suffering a campaign of oppression…and everyone in the opposition who says no to poverty has become an enemy of President Kais Saied."

After sacking the government and freezing parliament in July 2021, Saied later moved to seize control of the judiciary and pushed through a custom-made constitution cementing his grip on the executive.