Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli last week formed a coalition government of independent lawmakers, but the Tunisian parliament on Friday rejected it in a confidence vote, prolonging the political deadlock.
Image: Reuters/Z. Souissi
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The Tunisian parliament on Friday voted 134 to 72 against Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli's proposed government.
Jemli's failure to win the confidence vote means the North African country must restart a complex coalition-building process.
Jemli, an independent candidate, was nominated by the Islamist Ennahdha party, which came first in the October 2019 legislative polls but failed to secure a majority in the 217-seat parliament.
The proposed government had included independent figures, who Jemli said were best suited to initiate urgent reforms to tackle the worsening economic crisis in the country.
The country needs urgent economic reforms after successive governments struggled to tackle unemployment and inflation.
Tunisia is also dealing with a large influx of refugees from neighboring Libya, as an increasing number of people are fleeing the war-ravaged country.
Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
Faced with stalled reforms and widespread unemployment, Tunisians are left with an increasingly desperate situation at home. Have the post-revolution struggles been in vain? Benas Gerdziunas reports from Tunis.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Hamdaoui
Dark silhouettes in Tunis' Souqs
From a time when ͞the walls had ears to post-revolution struggles seven years later, Tunisians are proud to have won their freedom of speech.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Café Le Parlement
"Now, at least we can speak freely," proclaim Tunisians on the streets. Cafes, such as Le Parlement in Tunis, have become a forum for discussions and debates spurred on by the revolution.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Bullet hole in Bardo
Bardo,Tunisia's National Museum, was the scene of one of the two terror attacks in 2015, which left 24 people dead and the country's crucial tourism economy in tatters.
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The scene of the attack
Twenty tourists were killed In Bardo, and another 38 in the resort town Sousse. Tunisia also has the highest number of "Islamic State" recruits, and has fought against an Islamist insurgency in the country's border regions.
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Post-revolution political assassinations
The murders of secularist politicians Mohamed Brahmi and Chokri Belaid shocked the country in 2013; Tunis routinely sees demonstrators calling for justice.
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Between football and apathy
Competing football club graffiti in Tunis suburbs. Some young Tunisians have pointed at the political apathy and disengagement, claiming that society focuses more on football rivalries than post-revolution politics.
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Fighting for women's rights
A landmark law, which came into effect in February, made violence against women a criminal offence. Wafa Fraouis has been involved in women's issues since she was 15-years old. She was a member of the committees drafting the post-revolution constitution, enshrining gender equality in Tunisia's future. She is now director of Beity, the only shelter for vulnerable women in Tunis.
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A tantalizing glimpse of a better life
For many Tunisians, the only option to escape creeping poverty is the dangerous journey to Europe. Over 6,000 Tunisians reached Italy's shores in 2017 alone; over a third came in the space of two months, the sharpest increase since the 2011 revolution.
Image: DW/Benas Gerdziunas
Discarded and forgotten
Inside a cafe, a group of men sit around plastic tables covered with coffee cups, as heaps of discarded cigarette butts pile underneath. "This is what unemployment looks like," says one of the regulars inside. At least three visitors in the small cafe have been deported from Italy.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Escaping from their past
Marwan, a regular at this cafe, says many Tunisians leave to escape prison sentences, provide for their families back home, or cut links with the past completely. "We departed together with five boats; three made it to Lampedusa." He spent four years in northern Italy, dealing drugs and saving enough for a house and marriage back home.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
The final nail in the coffin
Hundreds of Tunisians who have tried to take the dangerous sea route across the Mediterranean have perished. Unmarked graves have popped up along Tunisia's coastline.
