Tunisian Coalition Talks Hit Snag as Ennahda Demands to Include All Parties

Tunisia’s largest party, the moderate Islamist Ennahda, on Monday rejected a proposal to form a government that excludes some parties. “We reject the government coalition being confined to some parties,” said Abdel Karim al-Harouni, chairman of the Shura (Consultative) Council of the Ennahda Movement. Harouni added that all parties needed to be in the government to enable it “to deal with major challenges and carry out necessary reforms.” Ennahda’s decision could complicate efforts to form a coalition government – the second such attempt since elections in October. In those elections, Ennahda won 53 of the 217 seats in parliament. After Ennahda’s nominee for the premiership failed to win a parliamentary majority, President Kais Saied tasked former finance and tourism minister Elyes Fakhfakh with the job of forming a majority coalition, making him the PM-designate. Fakhfakh said last week that his cabinet would only include those parties, including Ennahda, that were “aligned with the values of the revolution.” If Fakhfakh fails to win majority support in parliament, new elections will be held.