Tunisia: Ennahda’s efforts for the formation of a government stalled

Morocco World News/ Maghreb Intelligence

Rabat, November 4, 2011

While the victory of the Islamist Ennahda in the election of the Constituent Assembly seems clear and is not disputed, its efforts for the establishment of a government seem much more complicated.

Indeed, following the first democratic vote in the country, the top three political forces in Tunisia have made ??many reassuring and friendly statements.

Soon after the official release of the results, which gave 90 seats to Ennahda, 30 to Congress For the Republic (Congrés Pour la République) and 21 to Ettakatol (Coalition), both Moncef Marzouki’s CFR and Mustapha Ben Jaafar’s Ettakatol agreed to participate in a government of “national interest”.

However, disputes arose particularly between Ennahda and Congress For the Republic around the life of the Constituent Assembly that the Islamists would like to be reduced to one year, while the CPR advocates for it to be extended to three years.

According to sources in Tunis, the Islamists seem very eager to adopt a constitution and move towards the general elections as soon as possible. They know they are on an “upward trend” and want to benefit from it. For Marzouk, the construction of the new Tunisia must take more time.

The head of the CPR believes that his country has a lot of catching up to do and should take the time to build strong institutions.

On this key point, the two parties are in total disagreement. “The constitution of a new government and the election of a new president can take months, since new parties are so unwilling to make concessions on any point.”

“The 90 seats of Ennahda may turn out to be insufficient for the Islamist party to impose its views on the other protagonists of the Tunisian political scene,” says, lucidly, a Western diplomat in Tunis.