Secretary general of Tunisian Islamist movement resigns

Secretary General of the Ennahda Movement Hamadi Jebali has resigned, but the movement has not made a decision yet to accept or refuse his resignation, an official in the movement said on Monday.

The official spokesperson of the movement, Zeyad Al-Athari, confirmed that Jebali had submitted his resignation and did not rule out that he might want to establish a new party. “It is possible that Jebali has other plans,” he said. But at the same time, he ruled out new wave of resignations.

Jebali’s plan to resign came after the resignation of several senior members of the Ennahda party, including Manar Skandarani and Reyad Sho’ibi, who announced their plans to establish new parties.

Ennahda won an impressive electoral victory after the 2010-2011 uprising that ousted former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali; however, Tunisia’s secular parties have fiercely opposed the rule of the democratically elected Islamist-led government.

Jebali headed the first Tunisian government after the elections carried out in 2011. He was obliged to resign after pressure was put on his movement as part of accusations to Islamise the country.