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Tunisia's Ennahda says 33 lists will represent the movement in parliamentary elections

August 26, 2014 at 1:28 pm

Tunisia’s Ennahda said on Monday that 33 electoral lists, carrying 217 candidates, would be representing the movement in the parliamentary elections scheduled for October.

In a press conference held in the Tunisian capital, Ennahda’s Deputy Leader Abdulhamid Jelassi said that 27 lists will cover the electoral districts inside Tunisia and an additional six lists will represent the movement in districts outside the country, including France, Italy, North America and Germany.

Jelassi noted that women make up 46 per cent of the candidates on Ennahda’s lists while men comprise 54 per cent, with youth constituting 18 per cent.

He added that 84 per cent of Ennahda’s candidates hold university degrees, also pointing out that the remaining 16 per cent hold a Tunisian Baccalaureate, which qualifies students for starting university education.

The movement’s deputy leader noted that amongst the 217 candidates, there are nine businesspeople, 11 law experts, six medical doctors, 33 members of Ennahda’s bloc in the National Constituent Assembly and ten former ministers. The lists also include six university professors, 47 high school teachers and 11 instructors.

“The movement’s objective is to transition the country towards elections, especially amidst the major regional developments taking place around Tunisia,” Jelassi said.

Ennahda “holds on to the success of democracy and freedom through elections, with the participation of all [forces],” he said. “Ennahda is also keen that its electoral lists be characterised with openness. Candidates who do not belong to the party were contacted.”

The nomination of candidates to stand for the Ennahda movement started on 17 July. 750 people participated under the supervision of 100 Ennahda members.

The movement has formed a higher body to supervise the upcoming elections, under the leadership of Jelassi. He will be deputised by the former agriculture minister, Mohamed Bin Salem, and the former health minister, Abdul-Latif Al-Makki. The movement’s electoral campaign will be run by Mohsen Al-Noueshi.

The Constituent Assembly recently passed a bill specifying 26 October as the date for holding parliamentary elections and 23 November for holding the first round of the presidential elections. The law states that the second round of the presidential elections will be held after the final results of the first round are announced and before the end of 2014.

The Tunisian political scene is comprised of around 190 political parties, most of which emerged during the parliamentary elections held on 23 October 2011, following the 14 January Revolution that toppled President Zin El-Abidine Ben Ali.

The filing of nomination documents for the presidential election is scheduled to take place from 8 to 26 September.