10 November 2019

Tunisian parties reject a government lead by a primer minister from Ennahda’s ranks

A proposal by Ennahda party to name a prime minister from its ranks was rejected by possible coalition partners on 7 November. Ennahda got 52 of 217 seats in the past parliamentary elections, which forces any candidate to look for supports in the lower chamber. Only the Karama coalition, which holds 21 seats, agreed to Ennahda’s proposal. Other potential coalition partners are Attayar, which has 22 seats, Achaab’s Movement with 16 and Tahya Tounes with 14. Attayar representatives asked the prime minister to be from outside Ennahda’s ranks. Tahya Tounes said it would not join a cabinet led by Ennahda and called for a government of “national interest”. The rejection has lead Ennahda to accept an independent figure and in exchange assume the presidency of the Parliament. On 10 November Ennahda nominated its leader Rachid Ghannouchi to be speaker of the newly formed Parliament, whose first meeting will take place on 13 November. According to Reuters, some potential candidates for the post of prime minister could be former parliament speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar and two former finance ministers Elyes Fakhfakh and Fadel Abdel Kefi. If Ennahda cannot form a government within two months, the President cans ask another group to try. If all trials fail, a new election will take place.

circle graphic