Tunisian President Kais Saied plans to suspend the constitution and may amend the political system via a referendum, one of his advisers told Reuters on Thursday.
"This system cannot continue ... changing the system means changing the constitution through a referendum, perhaps ... the referendum requires logistical preparation," said Walid Hajjem, an adviser to Saied.
He added that this was the president's plan, which was at the final stage and was expected to be formally unveiled soon, but he did not expand on what changes Saied was contemplating.
Saied has been widely expected to move to a presidential system of government that would reduce the role of the parliament, something that has been frequently discussed during years of gridlock since the 2014 constitution was agreed.
He has defended his moves as necessary and said they were in line with the constitution, promised to respect Tunisians' rights and said he will not become a dictator.
Both domestic and international forces have pushed for Saied to appoint a government and show how he means to exit the constitutional crisis caused by his intervention.
The head of Tunisia's human rights league was quoted in a Tunisian newspaper on Thursday as saying that Saied had informed him that a new government would be appointed this week.
Tunisia faces grave economic problems and a looming threat to public finances, and had just started talks with the International Monetary Fund for a new loan program when Saied ousted the prime minister.
Any further IMF talks could not take place until a new government was installed that could credibly discuss fiscal reforms wanted by foreign lenders.
This week ambassadors from the G7 group of rich democracies urged Saied to appoint a government and return Tunisia to a constitutional order in which an elected parliament played a significant role.
Tunisia's powerful labor union, the UGTT, has also urged him to appoint a government and start dialogue to change the political system.
