This archive report was first published on 10 November 2019.
Published on November 10, 2019, Tunisia's Islamist-inspired party, Ennahdha, is pushing for one of its leaders to become the country's next prime minister, despite not winning enough seats to govern on its own.
Ennahdha, which secured 52 out of 217 seats in the October parliamentary election, is insisting that the new prime minister should be selected from the party.
The party's Shura Council proposed its leader, Rached Ghannouchi, as a candidate for speaker of parliament, according to council chief Abdelkarim Harouni.
Ghannouchi has led Ennahdha since its founding almost 40 years ago and has been instrumental in the party's success, including its victory in the 2011 election, just months after the party reemerged from underground following the revolution that ousted autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Harouni reiterated that Ennahdha wants one of its own figures to head the new government in the North African country, stating that "certain parties want to deprive the winner of the legislative election" from heading the cabinet.
The Islamist-inspired party has until Friday to announce its candidate for the premiership and has been holding negotiations with other political groups to form a new government.
