Democratic Current and People's Movement Parties will not participate in government of Jemli

The People’s Movement Party and the Democratic Current Party officially announced on Friday that they will not participate and vote for the government of Habib Jemli.

Mohammed Abbou, secretary-general of the Democratic Current Party, announced to Arabi 21 “the party will not participate in the government, and this is an official decision.”

Abbou confirmed that “the party will not vote for the government of Habib Jemli. We have decided to be in the opposition and will have nothing to do with the government. We cannot rule with Ennahda.”

He also expressed his distrust of the parties that make up the government, stressing that “non-participation is not an escape from power.”

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As for Jemli’s refusal to appoint the ministries of justice and interior from the Democratic Current Party, Abbou replied “Jemli initially confirmed his approval of the Ministry of Justice, but in a meeting yesterday informed us of his rejection, which was originally the rejection of Ennahda.”

The secretary-general of the People’s Movement Party, Zuhair Al-Maghazawi, asserted “we pointed to the lack of seriousness of Habib Jemli in dealing with the political approach presented by the People’s Movement Party, asking him to identify the political identity of the government, and his perception of many issues in the country, but he did not respond.”

Al-Maghazawi claimed in a statement to Arabi 21 “we will not officially vote for the government of Jemli. We will not participate in it, and we will take the opposition as the Democratic Current Party.”

According to Al-Maghazawi, “Jemli wants to form a government by approaching Ennahda, just like in 2011, on the basis of quotas and without vision and program.”

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Al-Maghzawi responded to questions about the reality of neutralising the sovereign portfolios of Jemli, insisting “in my last meeting at the beginning of the week, Jemli confirmed the neutralisation of ministries, but for us they are ministries of Ennahda in an undisclosed manner. We want clarity, and we did not see seriousness like the previous governments. This government won’t last long.” Jemli commented on the position of the two parties, stating that “it is the right of any political party not to participate in the new government.”

He explained, as quoted by the radio station Shems FM on Friday, that “the parties that withdrew from the consultations are free to choose.”

Jemli continued “my position was clear regarding the ministries of sovereignty, which must be fully neutral, but some parties have adhered to ministerial portfolios.”

According to an earlier statement by Jemli to Arabi 21, It is expected that he will present his government to parliament next week.

Jemli posted on Twitter “we will soon announce a complete strategy to save the country and state institutions from bankruptcy. It is a plan that will be implemented in coordination with the presidency of the republic after receiving several files on corruption in more than one institution.”