Ennahda leader to stand for MP in Tunisian poll

Rached Ghannouchi, 78, the influential leader of Tunisia’s moderate religious Ennahda party, will stand in the next parliamentary elections in October.

Exiled in London for about two decades during the rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Mr Ghannouchi has been a major force since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, but he has never run for any official position.

He remains a dominant figure who critics say effectively controls the country in tandem with the secular-minded President Beji Caid Essebsi, 92, often called the “two sheikhs” in reference to their age.

“The decision to present Ghannouchi at the top of the party’s electoral list in Tunis is to have leaders of parties play a more important role at this crucial stage in the history of the democratic transition in Tunisia,” Ennahda party official Imed Khmiri said.

Mr Ghannouchi’s candidacy for a parliamentary seat reinforces expectations that he is seeking to play a bigger role, possibly as prime minister or speaker of parliament, if his party wins the election.

Parliamentary elections are expected to be held on October 6 with a presidential vote on November 17.

They will be the third set of polls in which Tunisians can vote freely after the 2011 revolution.

The parliamentary race is expected to be fought closely by the Ennahda party, the secular Tahya Tounes party of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, the Nidaa Tounes party led by Hafedh Caid Essebsi, the president’s son, and the Democratic Current party.

Political progress since the revolution has not been matched by economic advances.

Unemployment stands at about 15 per cent, up from 12 per cent in 2010, because of growth and low investment.

The country has also been hampered by a series of security issues, including several suicide bomb plots claimed by ISIS.

The group called for more attacks in the country in a rare propaganda video purportedly filmed by the militants in the North African country last week.

It was released three weeks after a twin suicide attack against police in the capital Tunis claimed by ISIS killed two people.

The video, shared on ISIS social media channels, showed armed men in balaclavas who pledged allegiance to the militants’ leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.

“Your soldiers and your sons in the land of Kairouan are doing well,” said someone using the pseudonym Abou Omar Al Tounsi.

The holy city of Kairouan lies in central Tunisia.

Another militant using the name Abou Khaled Al Tounsi called for people to “sow terror” in Tunisia.

After 2011, the country experienced a rise in extremism, and deadly attacks hit soldiers, police, civilians and foreign tourists.

While the security situation has improved in recent years, a state of emergency put into place in 2015 is still in effect.