Tunisian President Kais Saied has embarked on consultations and talks with heads of political parties represented in the country’s parliament.
These talks are aimed at agreeing to assign a second figure to form a government, following the parliament’s decision to reject that proposed by designated prime minister Habib Jemli on Friday.
Consultations will be limited this time to heads of political parties represented in the parliament. Talks will also be narrow and will not include national organizations, such as the Tunisian General Labor Union and the rest of the professional unions.
Saied is scheduled to hold meetings with heads of Ennahda movement, Heart of Tunis Party (Qalb Tounes), Democratic Current Party, People’s Movement, Dignity Coalition (al-Karama), Free Constitutional Party, Long live Tunisia movement, National Reform bloc, in addition to a number of parties represented by a small number of deputies (less than three deputies).
He is expected to announce the most qualified figure in his point of view to form the government within a 10-day period, ending on Monday, January 20.
He will try to reach a broad political consensus, guaranteeing a confidence vote for the next government, and avoid failure again that leads to early parliamentary elections.
Political parties proceeded to propose figures to assume the post and sought to recall the conditions that must be met in the appointed premier by the Tunisian president.
In this context, parties stressed the need to assign a figure who is affiliated with the “revolutionary path” and to avoid a figure who is affiliated with “symbols of the former regime.”
In an attempt to define features of the new premier, Head of the Dignity Coalition Abdellatif Alaoui expressed the coalition’s desire to form a strong political government, including most political parties, except for Nabil Karoui’s Qalb Tounes and the former regime-affiliated Free Constitutional Party.
Alaoui stressed the need to change the methodology adopted in the consultations, calling for a consultative meeting with all political parties.
This way, he explained, programs prepared by political parties and their perceptions about ministerial portfolios could be presented in public and under Saied’s supervision.
