Fever of Ennahda resignations continues in objection to choices in dealing with political crisis

Fatima Abdul Ghani

Anger and dissatisfaction with the options pursued by the Brotherhood-affiliated Ennahda Movement led by Rached Ghannouchi in the Tunisian parliament is escalating, whether through its controversial alliances with the Heart of Tunisia party bloc, whose leader Nabil Karoui is in prison due to corruption and money laundering charges, or with the extremist Karama (Dignity) coalition bloc, or through the way Ennahda deals with the political crisis to escalate the existing dispute between it and Tunisian President Kais Saied and deepen the conflict between him and Prime Minister Hicham Mechichi.

In a move that reflects the state of dissatisfaction with the options that the movement is pursuing in dealing with the political crisis, Tunisian MP Ziad al-Athari decided to resign from Ennahda’s representative bloc. On Thursday, May 27, Athari submitted a request to resign from the movement’s bloc to Parliament Speaker Ghannouchi, requesting his registration among independent representatives not belonging to the blocs, according to reports by a local radio station in Tunisia.

Athari explained on his Facebook page the reasons for taking this step, noting that his decision “was not easy,” but this time he found himself “compelled to give up all partisan or governmental responsibility,” because “he is completely uncomfortable with the path the country has taken for some time, especially for a number of major party decisions in the recent period.”

Athari admitted his failure to “persuade the party’s institutions in crucial issues and at a pivotal moment,” expressing his lack of conviction with “choices made by the party’s institutions (the last of which was the file of the next government formation),” which he believes “does not rise to the expectations of the Tunisians nor to the level of the message they expressed in the last elections.”

With Athari’s resignation, the number of Ennahda representatives in parliament will be reduced to 51.

Athari’s resignation is considered a painful blow to Ennahda, especially as he was one of movement’s most prominent representatives in parliament and a relatively moderate figure within it. He held several high positions in the state, where he joined the government in February 6, 2015, when he took over the portfolio of Minister of Vocational Training and Employment, before being named in August 2016 as Minister of Industry and Trade, then Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation in September 2017, until he resigned from this position in early November 2019 following his election as a member of parliament.

It is noteworthy that Athari, who voted against Ennahda in the latest parliament sessions, had previously announced his resignation from all party structures in November 2019, when he was running the Secretary-General’s plan. Ghannouchi had tried at the time to persuade Athari to reverse the decision to resign from all party structures, but he failed to do so in view of his adherence by his decision.

Athari explained that the reason for the resignation at the time was due to the wrong path the movement was taking, accusing Ennahda of walking the country on a dangerous path that does not live up to the aspirations of Tunisians.

According to press reports, Ennahda has witnessed a bleeding of resignations in the past months in protest against Ghannouchi’s control over decisions and his unilateralism. Most notably were the resignations of the movement’s vice president, Abdelfattah Mourou, and its historical leader, Abdelhamid Jelassi, and before him Riad Al-Shuaibi, Zubair al-Shahoudi and Hamadi Jebali, in addition to the resignation of youth leaders, reflecting the state of division, dispersion and rift that the movement is currently experiencing.

Observers believe that Athari’s resignation from the Ennahda parliamentary bloc is not a sudden step but was expected, and it may open the door to other resignations, especially since disagreements within the core of the movement are still intense, mainly due to Ghannouchi’s unilateralism.