Tunisia premier announces resignation amid crisis

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has announced resignation amid the political crisis that is gripping the North African country.

Jebali made the announcement on Tuesday after his efforts to form a new government of technocrats failed.

“I promised and assured that, in the event that my initiative failed, I would resign as head of the government, and that is what I have done,” Jebali said after meeting with President Moncef Marzouki.

“Our people are disillusioned by the political class. We must restore confidence,” he added.

Meanwhile, he said that the failure if his initiative does not mean “the failure of Tunisia or the failure of the revolution,” referring to the January 2011 revolution in Tunisia that ousted dictator Zine El Abidine.

On Monday, Jebali said Tunisia’s main political parties had been unable to form a cabinet of technocrats to address the national crisis that began after the assassination of a prominent opposition politician.

The crisis began after leftist opposition leader Shokri Belaid was fatally shot outside his home in the capital on February 6.

Belaid’s assassination triggered violent demonstrations across the country, with the headquarters of the ruling Ennahda party being attacked in more than a dozen cities.

Opposition groups have accused Ennahda of being behind the assassination. However, the party’s leader, Rashid al-Ghannouchi, condemned the deadly assault and rejected the allegation.