Summary:

This week, a public prosecutor issued a judicial police warrant for the questioning of former Minister of Vocational Training and Employment Saida Ounissi in relation to an investigation into unaccounted for funds. Ounissi is a leader in the Ennahdha movement having previously served as a representative in the Tunisian parliament until it was dissolved by President Kais Saied in early 2022.

On 3 May 2023, Ounissi announced on Twitter that her home had been searched by plainclothes police. Additional comments from her Twitter account indicated that she had been accused of embezzling hundreds of millions of dinars from a European Union funding mechanism during her time leading the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment. She insisted that any investigation of her time at the Ministry will reveal the accounts to be “100% clean.”

This week, another senior Ennahdha official was arrested at the Tunis airport as he prepared to depart for Turkey. His arrest was rumored to be tied to unreported funds that he had at home, but were then stolen during a break-in.

Meanwhile, on 4 May, President Said dismissed the current Minister of Industry, Mines, and Energy, Neila Nouira Gongi. The President has previously expressed an interest in leveraging Tunisia’s extractables to support the floundering economy, yet the energy sector has struggled with profitability, labor disputes, and work stoppages.

Outlook:  

The Saied administration continues to prioritize the investigation of senior Ennahdha officials following the 17 April arrest of Rached Ghannouchi and the subsequent orders barring Ennahdha meetings nationwide. These moves have continued to draw criticism from Tunisia’s political parties and international advocates.

However, President Saied’s focus on Ennahdha appears to be supported by many Tunisians who attribute much of the country’s post-revolution political and economic struggles to Ennahdha and similar political groups.

These arrests and investigations pose concern to commentators advocating for Tunisia’s democratic future, but do not appear poised to result in significant unrest or security disruptions in the short term. Our team is continuing to monitor political developments for potential impacts to the risk environment.

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