Tunisia: Parties, Movements Form Coalitions Ahead of Elections

Tunisian elections (AFP)
Tunisian elections (AFP)
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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.



WHO Says Polio Mass Vaccination Campaign to Resume in Gaza 

Palestinian families gather at Gaza port to enjoy and watch the sunset, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
Palestinian families gather at Gaza port to enjoy and watch the sunset, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
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WHO Says Polio Mass Vaccination Campaign to Resume in Gaza 

Palestinian families gather at Gaza port to enjoy and watch the sunset, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
Palestinian families gather at Gaza port to enjoy and watch the sunset, 17 February 2025. (EPA)

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that a mass campaign to vaccinate children against polio in Gaza would resume on Saturday, with over half a million children targeted.

"The current environment in Gaza, including overcrowding in shelters and severely damaged water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, which facilitates fecal-oral transmission, create ideal conditions for further spread of poliovirus," the WHO statement said.

"Extensive population movement consequent to the current ceasefire is likely to exacerbate the spread of poliovirus infection," it added.