Ennahda, Ghannouchi in fight for political survival

The clock is ticking for Rached Ghannouchi, head of Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda party, who risks losing his seat as parliament speaker and possibly suffering one of the most significant political blows since his party rose to the forefront of the political scene in the North African country.

Gone are the days when Ennahda was able to quickly carve out a place for itself in political life and when political polls found it among the most popular Tunisian political parties.

Polls are showing Ennahda to be losing steam. According to the latest Emrhod Consulting poll, Ennahda’s archrival, the Free Destourian Party (PDL) enjoys, for the first time, more support than the Islamist party.

The PDL, led by Abir Moussi, has 28% support among prospective voters, followed by Ennahda (23%), Qalb Tounes (17%), and the Democratic Current (8%). The Karama Coalition, a radical Islamist group allied with Ennahda, has lost 3 percentage points in just one month, going from 7% to 4%.

Since Tunisia’s 2011 uprising, Ennahda has played the cards of revolution and religion to lure in voters, particularly those from poor and working class neighbourhoods and marginalised regions, promising them a better future in which the dreams of youth can be realised and justice achieved.

But after the party’s rise to power, senior Islamist leaders, particularly Ghannouchi, looked at power as a trophy, dividing its spoils among themselves while working to maintain control over state institutions through alliances, coalitions and political manoeuvres against their opponents and friends.

After numerous shocking political events, including the assassinations of leftist leaders Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi in 2013, and the gradual isolation of the late President Beji Caid Essebsi later in 2016, Tunisia began to see Ennahda’s true face, viewing the party as too unstable and fragile to help in any way counter the challenges the country faces.

False promises of employment and modernisation coupled with growing corruption and calls for compensation for all Ennahda members for so-called years of oppression opened Tunisians’ eyes to the Islamist movement’s real agenda – raw monopoly of power and reaping of personal benefits.

Now, as Ghannouchi’s castle of sand steadily melts and the truth behind Ennahda’s true objectives emerges, the Islamist movement is facing one of the toughest periods since its creation in the 1980’s.

Procedures for the withdrawal of confidence from Ghannouchi began Thursday after opposition MPs officially submitted a request last week to hold a vote of no-confidence against him. The request drew support from 73 MPs, enough to move forward in the process.

In recent months, Tunisia’s political forces have been vocally critical of Ghannouchi’s suspicious moves and practices, including his alleged attempt to advance the Muslim Brotherhood’s agenda.

The Islamist leader is also accused of serious violations, including poor management of parliamentary procedures and making unilateral decisions. He was also criticised for abuse of authority and infringing on the prerogatives of President Kais Saied.

The opposition parties — the Democratic Bloc, Tahya Tounes, the National Reform, the National Bloc and the PDL — also believe that Ghannouchi has a conflict of interest due to his serving as both Ennahda leader and parliament speaker.

Trying to save face this week, Ghannouchi agreed under duress to submit his record to plenary discussion and a vote of confidence. He reportedly said during the parliamentary meeting to look into the no-confidence motion, “I did not come on the back of a tank and I will not remain in the presidency of the parliament against the will of fellow deputies. That is why I accept the holding of a session for the no-confidence vote despite the formal breaches that marred the deputies’ request.”

While Ghannouchi believes that the no-confidence motion has limited chances of succeeding, he fears the dissolution of parliament, which is already rocked by divisions, disputes and protests.

He has good reason for concern: New elections could weaken Ennahda’s influence, giving it less seats than Moussi’s PDL.

New elections could also cause Ghannouchi’s allies — Qalb Tounes and Al Karama coalition –to emerge weaker, jeopardising his prospects of again securing the role of speaker.

Someone good at political calculations like Ghannouchi knows it is better for him and his party to maintain the current chaotic legislative structure, even if it means political instability for the country, weak governments that won’t last more than a few months and a gradual collapse of the state.

In recent weeks, Ghannouchi’s desperation has become increasingly apparent. While he has remained somewhat tight-lipped about the political misfortunes of his Islamist party, he has dispatched senior leaders to speak on his behalf. Ennahda figure Mehrzia Laabidi recently made a scene to drive PDL deputies out of their sit-in in parliament, while Ennahda’s parliamentary bloc leader Noureddine Bhiri accused foreign countries and opposition parties of foul play in parliament but failed to offer any evidence to back his charges.

Ghannouchi’s desperation was particularly apparent as he revisited his relationship with late President Beji Caid Essebsi in a tribute published July 22 by the Tunisian electronic magazine Leaders.

With its nostalgic tone, the tribute showed that Ghannouchi is struggling to cope with the end of the consensus phase pioneered by Caid Essebsi.

Ghannouchi described his relationship with Caid Essebsi, who died on July 25, 2019, as a sincere friendship, both politically and personally. He added that the two men put aside their differences and feelings to unite around a common objective — serving Tunisia’s interests.

The Islamist leader also emphasised Caid Essebsi’s insight in choosing the path of reconciliation to preserve the country’s democratic experience.

“Time confirms that the culture of unity in a fragile political context is colliding with the increased danger of political chaos and tensions. Whoever reads these lines will realise that the unity we have created is alive and that Tunisia’s success lies in its revolution. Our union was based on a sincere loving relationship devoid of narrow interests and calculation. Our friendship has been beneficial for Tunisia,” he wrote.

The tribute revealed the depth of Ghannouchi’s loss from the absence of Caid Essebsi, who often covered for his mistakes and absorbed political shocks, preferring to preserve political stability even if it meant concealing Ennahda’s nefarious agenda.

Today, there is no leader like Caid Essebsi to defend Ennahda and reassure Western capitals that Tunisian Islamists can believe in a civil democratic state.

Though Ennahda claims commitment to such principles to reassure those concerned about Tunisia’s social model, it has also manoeuvred to control the government and parliament.

Caid Essebsi, in fact, provided a great service to Ennahda by helping it quietly integrate into the political scene. However, Ghannouchi and other senior members of his party met Caid Essebsi’s gesture with ingratitude by widening the chasm between the late president and former Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, whom they partnered with at the expense of Caid Essebsi.

Now with President Kais Saied, an expert in constitutional law who is eager to play a direct role in various files, Ghannouchi again finds himself in the crosshairs.

Adding to the Islamist leader’s isolation is the hostility of opposition and civil society groups, which have come to the realisation that Ennahda, though claiming to be moderate and open, is not willing to challenge or abandon its ties with radical groups and its Islamist agenda.

As if it was not enough

The troubles of Ghannouchi and his Islamist movement were compounded Thursday when Imene Gzara, a member of the Committee for the Defence of the Two Martyrs – Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi spoke to the media to reveal new information about their cases.

“The telephone record of Mustapha Khedher, accused in the assassinations of Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, contains frequent communications with two telephone numbers, including that of the President of Ennahda Movement Rached Ghannouchi and another belonging to Kamel Bedoui, member of the security apparatus of the Islamist party,” Gzara said during a news conference in Tunis.

“Kamel Bedoui (whose number was registered under the name of Khitam Zarqaoui), who was in constant contact with Mustapha Khedher, had contacted Rached Ghannouchi 11 times the day before the assassination of Mohamed Brahmi. Their communications were also frequent and continuous,” she added.

The lawyer said the information had been available to justice officials since July 2013 but was not revealed until last May following the defence committee’s request. Khedher was accused last May of refusing to report information related to Brahmi’s assassination to public authorities.

“He [Khedher] is now being prosecuted for intentional homicide. His case has been transferred to the criminal court, which means that Ennahda’s secret apparatus, for which he was responsible, became an integral part of the indictment,” the lawyer said.

Khedher has been in prison since 2014 and will serve an 8-year jail sentence for holding confidential security documents linked to terror cases.

The committee believes this is a judicial diversion to bury other more damning aspects of his case in connection with the two assassinations.

Belaid and Brahmi were both staunch opponents of Ennahda and frequently denounced Islamists’ abuses while warning of the rise of terrorism in Tunisia.

While many have blamed Ennahda for inciting a climate of violence that led to the two leaders’ assassination, the party’s legal culpability has yet to be proven in court. Ennahda has several times denied any links to the assassinations or of harbouring a special apparatus.

The committee’s new revelations, however, put further strain on Ghannouchi and Ennahda at a time when public opinion seems to be turning against them.

Forced to fight on more than front, Ghannouchi and his inner circle are growing increasingly isolated and under fire over a deluge of accusations they are struggling to counter. It seems that this is a fight for their political survival.