Tunisia: Ennahda welcomes dialogue with president

A senior official of Ennahda movement has welcomed the possibility of dialogue with Tunisia’s President Kais Saied. Abdellatif Mekki made his comment during a radio interview on Monday and added that the movement’s leader, Rached Ghannouchi, is not holding on to the position of the Speaker of Parliament.

Resuming parliamentary activities is necessary, said Mekki, but only after correcting all of the mistakes that the institution has made. He pointed out that Ennahda is calling for an acceptable formula to be agreed on this step.

“The movement disagrees with the President of the Republic over some matters,” said Mekki, “but concedes with him at the level of principles and integrity of rule.”

The official referred to the possibility of returning to dialogue with Saied, despite the movement’s earlier rejection of the exceptional measures that he took last month, especially after the president decided to freeze the work of parliament, dismiss the prime minister and supervise the Public Prosecution service.

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He welcomed the suggestion for an urgent meeting between Saied and Ghannouchi with the aim of overcoming the political crisis in the country.

The majority of Tunisian parties have rejected Saied’s exceptional decisions, which some consider being a “coup against the constitution”. Others support the moves as a way to correct the course of the 2011 Jasmine Revolution.

Observers believe that the recent developments in Tunisia are a setback for the democratic process. The North African country has been viewed as a model for other Arab countries that witnessed popular revolutions against tyrannical regimes years ago.