Tunisia: Ennahda movement reiterate calls to expedite municipal elections

Tunisia’s Ennahda movement reiterated calls to expedite municipal elections due next spring, Wednesday.

The call came after a Tunisian opposition leader announced on Tuesday, that the country’s electoral commission has informed the opposition parties that obstacles prevent holding municipal elections next spring.

“The national interest requires to speed the completion of municipal elections” the movement said in a statement.

The statement added that the Independent High Authority for the Election met on Tuesday with three parties, the Ennahda Movement, the Nida’a Tunisia Party and the Free Patriotic Union following its meeting Tuesday morning with ten parties.

The statement said “the three parties suggested a week ago that the elections be postponed from its due date on March to April or early May.

According to the statement, the delay comes to accommodate parties which expressed reservations about the elections date announced by the Authority.

Read More: Ennahda’s Shura Council seeks to resolve legislative elections issue

A spokesman for Ennahda movement, Imad Khumeiri said on Wednesday that his party supports holding the elections at the earliest date possible and is open to proposals of political parties.

Last Wednesday, Ennahda movement, Nidaa Tunisia and the Free Patriotic Union called on the electoral commission to hold a consultative meeting with all political parties to determine their position on the upcoming municipal elections.

Last week, a spokesman for Nidaa Tunisian movement, Mounji Harbawi said in a statement that his party had proposed 15 May as a new date for the municipal elections.