Tunisia’s Amal Party offers to form National Salvation Front with Ghannouchi

Ahmed Najib Chebbi, a leader in Al-Amal Party (Hope), presented the Ennahda movement with an initiative to form a National Salvation Front to “save Tunisia from its severe and cumulative crisis.”

Announcing Chebbi’s visit to the Ennahda headquarters in Montplaisir yesterday, the Islamic movement said Chebbi “interacted with the movement’s inquiries” and that “the rapprochement was clear in dealing with the most critical issues of the general situation in the country and the necessary requirements to rescue it.”

Ennahda stated that “it was agreed that consultations and joint work would continue with the various concerned parties.”

On 25 July, Tunisian President Kais Saied cited Article 80 of the constitution to dismiss Prime Minister Hicham Mechichi, freeze the work of parliament for 30 days, lift the immunity of ministers, and appoint himself as head of the executive authority until the formation of a new government.

READ: Kais Saied is taking Tunisia back to one-man rule

This comes after violent protests broke out in several Tunisian cities criticising the government’s handling of the economy and the coronavirus. Demonstrators had called for parliament to be dissolved.

The majority of the country’s political parties slammed the move as a “coup against the constitution” and the achievements of the 2011 revolution.

Saied has held nearly total power since July. He appointed a prime minister on 29 September and a government has since been formed. In December, Saied announced that a referendum will be held on 25 July to consider ‘constitutional reforms’ and elections would follow in December 2022.