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Tunisian parliament approves new cabinet including secularists, Islamists

Xinhua, February 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Tunisian Parliament has approved the nominated cabinet of Prime Minister Designate Habib Essid, with 166 supporting votes, 30 against, and 8 abstentions on Thursday.

The parliament approved the coalition cabinet including secularists, Islamists and smaller parties, in the latest step in the country's transition to full democracy following a 2011 uprising.

Essid presented his cabinet members and his governmental plan for the next five years during a plenary session which started on Wednesday and continued until Thursday morning.

Over 130 parliament members intervened to comment on and react to Essid's speech.

Following the remarks and reactions of members of Parliament, they proceeded to the vote of confidence process. 204 members attended the voting session.

Essid needed 109 votes in order to get his cabinet approved.

The first nominated cabinet of Essid, announced at the end of January 2015, was heavily criticized, especially for eliminating the Islamist party of Ennahdha from the composition.

However, in the second suggested cabinet list, Ennahdha and Afek Tounes parties were included, in addition to Nidaa Tounes, the UPL and independent figures.

Essid will be officially designated the new Tunisian Prime Minister on Friday at the headquarters of the Prime Ministry in Kasbah. Enditem