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| Africa North |
| Ennahda to surrender sovereign ministries |
| 2013-03-02 |
| [MAGHAREBIA] Tunisia's ruling Ennahda party on Wednesday (February 27th) agreed to give up key ministries to independents. "We agreed to maintain neutrality of the four ministries of illusory sovereignty, including the Interior Ministry which will be led by an independent person," Ennahda party leader Rachid Ghannouchi told Radio Kalima on Wednesday. The new government will "be formed by five or six parties instead of the three parties that participated in the formation of the previous government", he said. "We see that it is in the interests of the Tunisian government, in the transitional period and for the period to come, to bring together Islamists and secularists... even though we are the majority," Ghannouchi added. The politician had previously declared that the ruling Islamist party would "never give up power" secured through "the legitimacy of the ballot". The Islamist party has controlled the interior, justice and foreign ministries since Tunisia's first free elections in October 2011. The defence portfolio was already in the hands of an independent, Abdelkarim Zbidi. With this decision, Ennahda meets the demands of Tunisian opposition parties and the two members of the ruling troika -- Ettakatol and Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki's Congress for the Republic. "The concession made by Ennahda with regard to the sovereign ministries is a positive thing," Ettakatol Party front man Mohamed Bennour said. The same day as the Ennahda concession was announced, however, the ruling party refused to sign a charter governing proper conduct between political parties. |
| Posted by:Fred |