Ennahda Party Chairman's Speech Delivered at the Press Conference on 28 October 2011

Ennahda party congratulates the Tunisian people who realised a new epic achievement though the great turnout to vote which amazed the world, after having sparked the greatest revolution in modern Arab history.
 
Ennahda salutes the martyrs, wounded and heroes of the revolution of freedom and dignity, and to the martyrs and heroes of the struggle for justice and freedom in our beloved Tunisia and around the world.
 
Our party dedicates this great democratic celebration and this victory to the daughters and sons of our Tunisian people, and to all the persecuted and downtrodden around the world, foremost our brothers and sisters in Palestine.

---

Ennahda prays for the souls of our eminent scholars and mentors who constituted a bridge between the nineteenth-century Islamic reform movement and the modern Islamic movement, at the forefront of whom is Sheikh Mohamed Saleh Ennayfer, and all our brothers and sisters who have passed away.
 
This is the greatest opportunity for Ennahda to express gratitude to all supporters of freedom around the world who stood by Tunisia during its plight, including politicians, human rights activists, journalists, thinkers, researchers and others.
 
Our party, having been honoured by our great people’s trust, reminds all Tunisians of its reformist Islamic modernising methodology, believing in the Islamic values of justice and mercy, renews its commitment to open dialogue, calling to Tunisia’s glory and the cohesion of its sons and daughters despite their differences, and renews its rejection of violence as a method of managing intellectual and political differences.
 
Our people had the will to depose dictatorship and it realised that will. It willed to build its democratic system, and it has done so through its immense turnout to vote, sending a message to its elites to build a new accord that establishes the state not on the basis of power and the one-leader and one-party’s monopoly of decision-making and wealth, but on consensus that excludes no-one. Our party stresses its commitment to that call and opens its doors to all Tunisia’s daughters and sons, whether or not they voted for it.
 
This joyful occasion for our beloved country renews our conviction that the sole key to the problems of development and reform is freedom, human dignity, strengthening civil society and its independence from the state and establishing a pluralistic political life.
 
Our party spent its entire history struggling against despotism and absolute authoritarianism and calling for the rule of law and for consultation through freedom of expression and organisation, the separation of powers and participation in government as an organised expression of the people’s will through representative bodies that are periodically elected in free and fair elections.
 
These are our principles for which we have struggled tirelessly and peacefully, and they will not change in any way by our move from the opposition to participation in government.
 
It is true that this great revolution was achieved by the people. However, one must not forget the struggle of all those who paved the way for this revolution through their continous resistance to the corrupt police state. Since independence, prisons were never vacant- nor are they to this day-detaining generations of opposition activists of various intellectual backgrounds, from nationalists, socialists and trade unionists to communists, liberals and Islamists. We hope that just as prisons had brought then together, they will be brought together by the conviction that democracy is for everyone, and can only be so.
 
Our party seeks to strengthen close bonds and dialogue to reflect on what is common and respect differences between those struggling for freedom- Islamists and secularists. We will reach out to our partners in citizenship, holding our hands out to them, calling them to join us to participate in the building of a democratic system and writing the constitution in a spirit of accord and constructive dialogue, as is the will of our people expressed through the ballot box.
 
The party will seek to strengthen its civilisational roots and build the foundations of political, cultural and economic independence on the basis of a strong cohesive society that is committed to its founding principles and free from despotism.
 
In order to achieve real independence and strength for our country, Ennahda party emphasises the civilisational and strategic depth to which our country belongs at the Maghreb, Arab and Islamic levels, within the framework of openness to the international scene, on the basis of a strategy of openness, partnership and civilisational influence, regaining our country’s lost role in its Meditterradean environment, strengthening cooperation with our European partners and the historical friendship with the United States of America, and strengthening relations with all international actors. Our party is committed to supporting efforts for protectinng security and peace and combating all that undermines them. It is also committed to respecting international accords and agreements ratified by the Tunisian state.
 
Women have a special status in our party’s project, one that is reflected in their active presence and representation in all leadership committees and electoral lists, according them the elevated status they are granted in our religion. We take this opportunity to celebrate the advanced role played by Tunisian women in the struggle for dignity and freedom in Tunisia. Our party renews its commitment to Tunisian women to strengthen their achievements and work towards advancing their status further, strengthening and activating their role in political decision-making, thus preventing any regress in their rights.
 
The party is committed to combating the widespread bribery and corruption, recuperating usurped funds and bringing to account criminals implicated in flagrant human rights abuses under an independent judicial system far from revenge or collective punishment.
 
The party will seek to achieve the demands of the revolution in guaranteeing a dignified life for all Tunisians, through addressing the problem of unemployment, the deterioration of purchasing power and widespread poverty in vast sectors of our society.
 
Ennahda party adopts a comprehensive development vision that regards Tunisia as being open to all its daughters and sons, seeking to guarantee dignified living for all Tunisians, such that there is no longer any poor or needy person, nor any wronged individual who does not find justice.
 
We are very conscious of the great national responsibility to work towards achieving the principal demands of the Tunisian people, that is dignity and freedom.
 
Finally, our party once again congratulates our people and renews its promise to them and to Tunisia’s martyrs to remain faithful to the revolution, trustworthy over our country, working for its advancement and glory.