Tunisia: Parties, Movements Form Coalitions Ahead of Elections

Tunisian elections (AFP)
Tunisian elections (AFP)
TT

Tunisia: Parties, Movements Form Coalitions Ahead of Elections

Tunisian elections (AFP)
Tunisian elections (AFP)

Mohsen Marzouk, head of “Tunis Project” signed a political alliance with head of “Nidaa Tounes – Clan Hammamet” Selma Elloumi, few months ahead of Tunisia’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

Ruling party’s other wing, “Nidaa Tounes – Montaser”, is chaired by Hafedh Caid Essebsi, son of the current Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi.

The agreement provides a start to a unifying path that combines both “Nidaa Tounes – Hammamet” and “Tunis Project” and opens up to all political forces and national figures in preparation for the forthcoming polls.

Elloumi, former head of Presidential Diwan, said that the political alliance requires full integration of the two parties and their parliamentary blocs.

She pointed out that a press conference will be held Tuesday to provide more details on the unilateral path and the agreement between both parties, noting that they are currently finalizing the agreement.

Following the announcement of the coalition, the two parties are expected to become represented by a single parliamentary bloc formed of 52 deputies, with 37 representing Nidaa and 15 for Tunis Project.

In related news, Sec-Gen of the opposition Republican Party Issam Chebbi confirmed the formation of a new electoral alliance of the Republican Party with “al-Massar Democratic and Social Party”, “Movement of Socialist Democrats” and “Qaderoon Initiative” along with a number of independent figures.

Chebbi said they will reveal this week all the details of the alliance and its political and electoral objectives.

In other news, Bouhajla in Kairouan province, central Tunisia, witnessed protests and riots against the backdrop of the death of a Tunisian, 60, inside a security facility.

The prosecution in the Court of First Instance in the Kairouan ordered an investigation into the events and the circumstances leading to the death of the civilian after his health deteriorated inside a police station.



UK's Starmer Discussed Importance of a Ceasefire With Lebanon's PM

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer smiles on stage on the second day of the annual Labor Party conference in Liverpool, north-west England, on September 23, 2024. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer smiles on stage on the second day of the annual Labor Party conference in Liverpool, north-west England, on September 23, 2024. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
TT

UK's Starmer Discussed Importance of a Ceasefire With Lebanon's PM

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer smiles on stage on the second day of the annual Labor Party conference in Liverpool, north-west England, on September 23, 2024. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer smiles on stage on the second day of the annual Labor Party conference in Liverpool, north-west England, on September 23, 2024. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met his Lebanese counterpart at the United Nations and discussed the importance of an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated solution in the conflict with Israel, his office said on Friday.
Starmer met Lebanon's Najib Mikati at the United Nations General Assembly, reported Reuters.
"The Prime Minister opened by giving his sincere condolences to Prime Minister Mikati for the loss of civilian life in recent weeks," the statement said.
"They discussed the escalating conflict in Lebanon, and agreed on the importance of an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated solution."