TUNIS — Amid concerns that a planned electoral conference of Ennahda's Shura Council might be postponed, Abdullatif Mekki, a member of the council, called for expediting the meeting, scheduled to be held in May 2020, four years after the 10th conference in May 2016. The party's 11th electoral conference will select a new leader of the movement, it was announced Dec. 12.
Mekki accused Ennahda’s current leader, Rachid Ghannouchi, of not being able to fulfill his duties as head of the movement while also serving as parliament speaker. Ghannouchi was elected speaker in November to serve from 2019 to 2024. Mekki, a member of Ennahda's reformist wing, pointed to a clause in Ennahda’s bylaws stipulating that its president must be dedicated to his duties as head of the movement. Mekki said that should he be nominated to succeed Ghannouchi nothing would stop him from running.
