Tunisia’s Ghannouchi downplays mass resignations from Ennahda

Leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda Party and Parliament Speaker, Rached Ghannouchi, has downplayed the significance of the resignation of more than 100 members of his party, saying they motivate him to develop the party’s institutions to be more open for dialogue.

“I deeply regret these resignations, which undoubtedly affect the movement and its cohesion,” Ghannouchi said in an interview with Al Jazeera yesterday, adding that the members had resigned in spite of there being a chance of finding a solution to the party’s problems during its upcoming conference.

As many as 131 members of Ennahda resigned on Saturday in protest at the party’s “leadership performance”.

The former members attributed their decision to “the disruption of the movement’s internal democracy and the unilateral decision-making by a group of loyalists to its leaders, which resulted in wrong decisions and choices that led to political alliances that have no logic or benefit and contradict the pledges made to the voters.”

READ: Tunisia: Ennahda resignations ‘not leading to a new party’