TUNIS — Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli officially kicked off consultations with political parties Nov. 15 to form his new government. Jemli was nominated to his post by the Ennahda Movement, the party with the largest number of seats in parliament (54 of 217).
On Nov. 22, Jemli held consultations with the liberal secular party Qalb Tounes (Heart of Tunisia), the second largest party with 38 seats. The meetings sparked controversy as Ennahda head Rachid Ghannouchi had said that Qalb Tounes would not become part of the government over suspicions of corruption among some of its leaders.