New Tunisia Cabinet Faces Tight Confidence Vote Tuesday

Tunisia's prime minister designate is to put his cabinet line-up to parliament Tuesday with the vote expected to be tight for the first government since landmark free elections last year.

Parliament will convene at 10 am (0900 GMT) for the confidence vote, its website said.

The moderate Islamist movement Ennahda, which holds 69 of parliament's 217 seats, has said it will vote against Habib Essid's line-up, as have three smaller parties.

Essid, a former interior minister and nominal independent, was charged with forming a government by anti-Islamist President Beji Caid Essebsi following his inauguration in late December.

With 86 seats, Essebsi's own party Nidaa Tounes fell short of a majority in the October parliamentary election, forcing Essid to seek coalition partners.

He handed the tourism and sports ministries to the Free Patriotic Union party of businessman Slim Riahi, which holds 13 seats, and others to independents.

But Ennahda, which dominated the interim administrations which led Tunisia through the transition after the Arab Spring uprising of 2011, was left out.

Three other parties have also said they will vote against the cabinet line-up -- the leftist Popular Front with 15 seats, the liberal Afek Tounes party with eight and the Moubadara party of former foreign minister Kamel Morjane with three.