Dozens of figures, who resigned from the Ennahda movement, are preparing to establish a new political party, said Tunisian political sources.
The new party is expected to meet some of Ennahda’s intellectual and ideological views. However, according to the sources, it will not adopt the same strategy in dealing with politics and social organizations.
The new party will be “a middle ground” for everyone who believes in the identity of the “Arab Islamic Tunisian people.”
Abdelfattah Mourou, a former leading member of Ennahda, will chair the new party. The leadership will also include Abdellatif Mekki, Mohamed Ben Salem, Samir Dilou, and several lawmakers of the suspended parliament.
Several officials resigned from the Ennahda movement, headed by parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi, in protest against the leadership’s actions and stances.
They slammed the party for its lack of internal reforms and warned that the wrong choices led to the leadership’s isolation and failure to engage in any common front to confront President Kais Saied’s recent extraordinary measures.
Earlier this year, Saied invoked emergency powers under Article 80 of the constitution to sack Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, freeze parliament, lift the immunity of parliament members and make himself prosecutor general.
Secretary-General of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) said that “there will be no return to autocracy” in reference to the expected political reforms being arranged by the presidency.
Speaking to the press during the “African Continental Free Trade Agreement,” Noureddine Taboubi underscored the demands for the formation of a political system that is not based on single rule, rejecting attempts to establish an autocracy.
Taboubi acknowledged disagreements with the presidency, noting: “We want a balanced government based on oversight, accountability, constitutional institutions and the rule of law.”
