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Essebsi refers firing of Central Bank governor to parliament

February 9, 2018 at 12:59 am

Tunisia’s Central Bank Chairman Chedly Ayari speaks to press after the cooperation agreement signing ceremony for UK and Tunisia in Tunis, Tunisia on April 11, 2017. ( Amine Landoulsi – Anadolu Agency )

On Thursday, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi has asked the Parliament to review the recent firing of  Central Bank of Tunisia’s Governor Chedly Ayari. Prime minister Youssef Chahed had moved to dismiss Ayari and appoint a successor on Wednesday.

In a brief statement, the President’s office said that Essebsi has refered the prime minister’s proposal to dismiss Chedly Ayari appoint Marwan Al-Abbasi as his replacement to the Tunisian Parliament for approval, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 78 of the Tunisian Constitution.

Article 78, paragraph 4, of the Tunisian Constitution states that “the appointment of the Governor of the Central Bank shall be made following a proposal from the Head of Government, and after the approval of the absolute majority of the Tunisian Parliament’s members.” He is dismissed in the same way, or under the request of one third of the Tunisian Parliament’s members and the approval of the absolute majority of the members.

Read: Tunisia’s foreign exchange reserves lowest in 15 years

No date has been fixed for the Tunisian Parliament to vote on the proposal.

Ayari had been appointed during the rule of the Troika government, which was formed from a coalition between Ennahda Movement Party, the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties, and Congress for the Republic, between December 2011 and January 2014.

The government has not announced a reason for Ayari’s firing.

The dismissal proposal came after the Central Bank of Tunisia announced in a statement, on Tuesday, that on Monday the country’s foreign exchange reserves have witnessed a decrease from 5.63 billion dollars at the beginning of 2017 to 4.9 billion dollars, equivalent to imports of 84 days.

The decline in foreign exchange reserves in Tunisia has accelerated since 2017 due to the serious balance of trade deficit on the one hand, and the decline of the Tunisian dinar exchange rate against the dollar and the euro on the other hand.