Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali meets with members of his cabinet on February 19, 2013, in the la Kasbah area of Tunis.
Tunisia's Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigned on Tuesday after his attempt to form a technocratic government failed.
"I vowed that if my initiative did not succeed, I would resign and … I have already done so," Jebali told a news conference after meeting with President Moncef Marzouki, according to Reuters.
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Jebali had tried to form a government of technocrats in response to his country's political crisis that started when opposition leader Chokri Belaid was assassinated, reported BBC News. Belaid's killing on Feb. 6 sparked mass protests across Tunisia and resignations from its coalition government.
According to France 24, Jebali's own Ennahda party rejected his idea to form a non-partisan cabinet, saying the country needed a government of politicians.
"Our people are disillusioned by the political class. We must restore confidence," Jebali said, noted BBC News.
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"The failure of my initiative does not mean the failure of Tunisia or the failure of the revolution," he continued, referring to the country's unrest two years ago that removed autocratic leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali from power.
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