The Tunisian Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday that it has appointed nine senior security officials, including a new Director General of Intelligence, which appears to be a move by President Kais Saied to assert his influence over the security apparatus, following his statement days earlier about attempts to infiltrate the Ministry of Interior. Saied had dismissed Prime Minister Hicham Mechichi and suspended the parliament's activities on July 25 as part of exceptional measures described by his Islamist opponents as a coup.
More than three weeks after Saied's surprising move, which received widespread public support, a new prime minister has yet to be appointed, and plans for managing the next phase have not been announced, raising questions about the democratic path the country has followed since the 2011 revolution. Sources close to the presidential palace indicated that Saied wants to initiate radical changes in state institutions, particularly in the security sector, which has been a center of political contention over the past decade.
Last week, Saied stated that there have been attempts to infiltrate the Ministry of Interior and that he will not allow this, without providing further details. The Ministry of Interior's statement confirmed the appointment of Sami Al-Yahyaoui as Director General of Specialized Services (Intelligence), Mourad Hussein as Director General of Public Security, and Mokrem Akid as Director General of the Security Pole for Combating Terrorism and Organized Crime.
