Tunisia's National Anti-corruption Commission protested against the country’s prime minister for not consulting with it before passing 12 government decrees focused on fighting the novel coronavirus.
Chawki Tabib, head of the Commission, said that the move violates the constitution and is considered a setback in joint national efforts for fighting corruption.
Tabib explained that Chapter 130 of the constitution provided for obligatory counseling of the Commission in draft laws (decrees) related to fighting corruption in the public and private sectors, and in establishing good governance rules.
It is noteworthy that the cabinet, which held a meeting last Monday, approved a set of decrees mainly related to financial, economic, social and legal measures within the framework of combating the coronavirus outbreak.
In other news, the Heart of Tunisia opposition parliamentary bloc witnessed internal disputes that led to it splitting into two blocs. The first bloc is being led by Nabil Karoui, while the second is being led by Hatem al-Maliki.
Rached Ghannouchi, the Speaker of Parliament, announced the formation of a new bloc named the ‘National Bloc.’ It includes nine members headed by al-Maliki.
The split has caused the Heart of Tunisia to lose nine seats in parliament dropping from 38 seats to 29 seats.
Speaking on the split, political analyst Jamal al-Arfawi said that the Heart of Tunisia may face the same fate as Nidaa Tounes and that the ruling coalition headed by Ennahda Movement stands to benefit most from divisions among opposition blocs.
In parliament, Ennahda Movement maintains the lead with 54 votes, followed by the parliamentary bloc that includes the People's Movement and the Democratic Current Party, with 40 votes, and after that comes the Heart of Tunisia with 29 votes.
