The Tunisian parliament session to question Speaker Rashid Al Ghannouchi, who is also the head of Ennahda movement, kickstarted on Wednesday morning, lasting until late at night.
Ghannouchi’s questioning raised doubts about his political future should his opponents succeed in gathering enough votes - 109 out of a total of 217 - to withdraw confidence in him.
The grilling session focused its discussions on two main points: opposition demands for questioning and voting to withdraw confidence from Ghannouchi and parliamentary diplomacy regarding Libya.
The opposition has criticized Ghannouchi for his errors, the latest of which was his telephone call with head of the Libyan Government of National Accord Fayez al-Sarraj. In his call, Ghannouchi congratulated Sarraj for taking over al-Watiya airbase from the Libyan National Army.
Abir Moussa, head of the Free Destourian Party (PDL) bloc, accused Ennahda lawmakers of trying to drag the grilling session so that a vote of confidence is not taken late at night.
Ennahda leader Imad al-Khamiri, for his part, said that the governing coalition considered the hearing just a ‘discussion’ with the parliament speaker about parliamentary diplomacy.
Opponents insist that it be considered a session for grilling Ghannouchi on his political stances, and accuse him of using his position in parliament to validate stances that are not approved by the rest of the parties represented in the parliament.
According to Ghannouchi’s rivals, his errors have warranted a withdrawal of confidence in him.
People's Movement lawmaker Haykal Makki said that Ghannouchi committed grave mistakes and has infringed on Tunisian diplomacy, parliament and the people. He also accused him of meddling in the affairs of a neighboring state.
“Ghannouchi must be held accountable for his partial involvement in the conflict in Libya,” Makki said, stressing that the People’s Movement was against all foreign involvement in Libya.
