TUNIS, Tunisia — The Akal movement arose during Tunisia’s 2011 revolution as a civil force to defend the rights of the country’s native Amazighs and preserve their cultural heritage. Today, the movement’s founders are turning the group into a political party that will participate in the legislative and presidential elections this year, according to Akal leader Samir al-Nefzi, who spoke with Al-Monitor.

Movement members announced at a May 6 press conference in the capital that they have applied to the government to form a party and are awaiting official permission to start their political activities. There are already 217 parties in the country, but this will be the Amazighs' first.

Tunisia's legislative elections are scheduled for Oct. 6, and the presidential election is set for Nov. 17.

The Amazighs have long suffered from a government policy of systematic marginalization that continues today, Nefzi said. In a 2016 report, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights accused the Tunisian government of fighting and sidelining the Tamazight language and identity.