Will Tunisian prime minister resign or run for president?
Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has been elected head of Tahya Tounes, which has sparked fears among political circles that he might use his post to serve party interests.
TUNIS — The National Council of Tahya Tounes (Long Live Tunisia) elected on June 1 Prime Minister Youssef Chahed as its head. Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the movement Salim al-Azzabi announced the launch of regional consultations to arrange party lists for the legislative elections.
However, Chahed did not announce his resignation from the premiership, which fueled speculation about the options he would go for as the legislative and presidential elections scheduled for Oct. 6 and Nov. 17, respectively, draw near.
On Jan. 27, independent political figures, members of the regime of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, dissident leaders of Nidaa Tounes and ministers from Chahed’s government announced the establishment of Tahya Tounes as an alternative to Nidaa Tounes, which witnessed an unprecedented wave of defections that threatened its survival.
Interparty disputes erupted as soon as the results of an electoral congress held in Monastir on April 6 were announced. Soufien Toubal, leader of Nidaa Tounes' parliamentary bloc, announced April 13 on Facebook that he had been elected president of the party’s Central Committee at a congress held in Hammamet. A day later, in a statement to state television, Hafedh Caid Essebsi, son of Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, announced that he had been elected to lead Nidaa Tounes’ Central Committee at a party congress held in Monastir.
