New Tunisian Cabinet Takes Oath Before President Kais Saied

On Wednesday, ministers of Tunisia's new government have been sworn into office before the country's president Kais Saied.

Earlier, the Tunisia’s parliament granted its vote of confidence to the new cabinet led by Prime Minister-designate Hichem Mechichi.A total of 134 deputies voted in favor of forming the cabinet in a vote in parliament which lasted more than 14 hours.

Tunisia and the new cabinet

The cabinet would be the third Tunisia has seen since October and the ninth since the revolution that brought down the North African autocratic regime in 2011 and triggered Arab Spring uprisings across the region.

The parliament voted down a previous prime minister-designate earlier this year after a marathon debate.

Tunisia's parliament, elected last October, is deeply pided and many lawmakers were angry that Mechichi, the candidate picked in July by President Saied, had bypassed the major political factions in building his cabinet.

The Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, the biggest bloc in parliament, had however said hours before the vote it would back Mechichi "despite reservations", averting a breakdown that would have forced unpopular new elections.