Tunisia parliament meets to approve new coalition gov't

TUNIS

Tunisia's parliament convened on Wednesday to approve Prime Minister-designate Elyes Fakhfakh's new coalition government.

The session is attended by 180 lawmakers of the 217-member parliament.

"Tunisia is passing through a new democratic test amid a turbulent Arab and international atmosphere," parliament Speaker Rachid Ghannouchi told the session.

"We have spent a lot of time since the Oct. 6 legislative elections to form a government," he said.

"All this has proved the strength of the Tunisian experience and its ability to manage discord and dialogue in accordance with the constitution and away from populism and political tension," he said.

Last week, Fakhfakh announced a modified lineup of his new government after a meeting with President Kais Saied.

According to Fakhfakh, the new government is a "broad coalition that represents the various political spectrums..., and [aims at] restoring hope and confidence to the people."

To win the parliament's confidence, the new government needs to obtain a majority of 50+1 votes or 109 votes out of 217.

Earlier this month, the Tunisian president threatened to dissolve parliament and call early election if Fakhfakh's government failed to win parliamentary confidence.

Fakhfakh was appointed by Saied last month to form the government after Ennahda's candidate Habib al-Jamali failed to win parliament's confidence for his cabinet lineup.

* Bassel Ibrahim contributed to this report from Ankara