Tunisia's transitional cabinet to hold first meeting

Wed, 19 Jan 2011

Tunis/Paris - Tunisia's transitional government was scheduled to hold its first cabinet meeting Wednesday, amid ongoing calls for members of the previous administration to be excluded from power.

The government of national unity got off to a rocky start on Tuesday after three ministers General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT) quit over the weighting of the government in favor of ousted president Zine el-Abidine ben Ali's old party.

While the opposition and civil society have been brought into government the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party retained most of the top portfolios, such as defense and finance.

Health minister-designate Mustapha Ben Jaafar of the opposition FDLT party announced he was also boycotting the government in protest over the dominance of the RCD.

To try mend the rift interim President Foued Mabazaa and interim Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi resigned their membership of the RCD.

But the move was deemed insufficient by the UGTT.

On Wednesday, a measure of normality was returning to the capital Tunis after days of demonstrations and riots.

While universities and schools remained closed many shops had reopened.

Ben Ali fled Saudi Arabia last Friday after a month of demonstrations that began over unemployment and gradually swelled into a national uprising, which killed 78 people.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/363071,transitional-cabinet-hold-meeting.html.