The date of the next election has not yet been conclusively determined. However, many figures have already started preparing for the race towards Carthage Palace, under either political alliances or personal ambitions.
Many pictures and names of political figures have come to light and they seem qualified enough to occupy the first ranks in the presidential race, if it is conducted as expected and if the presidential system has been approved.
The date of the next election has not yet been conclusively determined. However, many figures have already started preparing for the race towards Carthage Palace, under either political alliances or personal ambitions.
Many pictures and names of political figures have come to light and they seem qualified enough to occupy the first ranks in the presidential race, if it is conducted as expected and if the presidential system has been approved.
The first of those is the candidate of the Ennahda Movement, the party that won a relative majority in the last elections on October 23, 2011 and became interested in the presidency after the legal initiation of making the regime a presidential one, as proposed by some opposition groups. The most important candidates are:
Rached Ghannouchi: He was born on June 22, 1942, and is currently the Ennahda leader and vice president of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars. The age factor may not be in his favor as a legal constraint, yet he has a major network of external relations, which make him a major contender and the guarantor of many international parties intervening in Tunisia, especially a large number of the Arab Gulf states, the Arab Spring countries, and even the United States and European allies.
Abdelfattah Mourou: He has long been presented as a moderate figure of Ennahda, who is capable of dialoguing, and a friend of civil society components. He was born on June 1, 1948, and is practically the Ennahda founder. Many explain his return after the recent Ennahda conference as an attempt of the leadership to introduce a moderate person into the Ennahda party and the country.
However, Ennahda may have to waive the position of the president once again in order to preserve its alliances or build new ones, like the recent rapprochement with the Republican Party, where there was leaked news that Ennahda offered the centrist opposition leader two ministries for his party and nominated him for the next presidential elections.
Ahmed Nejib Chebbi: Born in 1944, he was a solid struggler in the face of Ben Ali’s regime; however, his popularity somewhat declined, especially after he held a ministerial portfolio in the first and second governments of Ghannouchi; where his rivals managed to explore his personality and attribute things to him, we do not know whether true or false. These allegations circulated in many circles of politicized people in the governorates and he subsequently became unable to hold any public meeting there at a specific period last year.
Because Ennahda does not put all of its eggs in one basket, it may count on the current chairman of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA), whose image has long been used by them to promote the ruling troika abroad as an example of a secular-Islamic alliance.
Mustapha Ben Jaafar: Born on January 12, 1940, he is a doctor with Francophone culture and orientation. His performance within NCA was rather monotonous and almost completely loyal to Ennahda, which made many whisper that Ennahda promised him to be a substitute for Marzouki. He knows well that his party is about to end, that subordination to Ennahda has stuck to him, and that his popularity has declined a lot. Therefore, he relies heavily on the sponsorship of his strong ally, Ennahda; otherwise, his candidacy would be meaningless.
At the opposite side, i.e. in Call For Tunisia, it is likely that Beji Caid el Sebsi, who is almost 90, will not venture into the race and throw his leadership history and political capital in an election of non-guaranteed consequences. He may rather push Mr. Taeb Backouch.
Taeb Backouch: Born in January 1938; he is the Director General of the Arab Institute for Human Rights and former Secretary General of the Tunisian General Labour Union. He holds the trust and respect of many unionists all over the country. Although he has been away from the limelight in the last two decades, he did not leave the scene and remained in the memory of many of those who adhere to a modern and civil state and have faith in Backouch, though relatively old.
Beji Caid el Sebsi, the Bourguibian sly, however, might be hiding more than one joker, most importantly:
Mustapha Kamel Nabli: A man of management and economics, whose battle with the ruling troika for an independent central bank and banking sector in general, pushed him to the forefront earlier last year. He was able to acquire the admiration of a number of citizens who consider him a man zealous for the country’s economy and keen on independency, and a resolute man who does not give up. This model image may be an incentive for many voters who are tired of politicians and political leaders and eager for administrative competences that save the country from the deteriorating economic situation.
The Popular Front, a leftist-nationalist coalition that has recently gained good popularity, is a strong contender of Ennahda and Call For Tunisia, especially if it nominates the symbol of leftist struggle, Hamma Hammami.
Hamma Hammami: He was born on January 8, 1952, in Laroussa. He is a symbol of rejection, as the creator of the saying, “I am against”, as many Tunisians joke with him, and a solid leader who experienced detention and prosecution for decades. His popularity is good, though it does not reach that of el Sebsi, Ghannouchi and Chebbi, but certainly not poor, especially if he wins consensus of the Popular Front as the sole candidate; he then can re-shuffle the deck in the ranks of the candidates of the presidential elections next summer. Being a struggler and son of toiling grassroots, Hammami, who comes from the north-west, knows well the keys of the country and the psyche of the people, and knows how to address the audience. He however has to watch out for the attributes his opponents ascribe to him, especially communism, atheism and other attributes they ascribe to the Workers’ Party.
Apart from these political blocs, the current interim President Moncef Marzouki is still clinging to his position despite the breakup of the alliance that has brought him to power:
Moncef Marzouki: He was born on July 7, 1945, in Nabeul, and lived between Morocco, Sousse and Paris. He is known for his defense of human rights and unlimited courage against dictatorship under Ben Ali, although his performance at the top of the power pyramid during last year did not meet expectations and ambitions attached to him.
The limited powers through which his strong Islamic ally shackled him, as well as his fluctuating attitudes and ambiguous character, have made the presidency, if he continues to rely on Ennahda, a mere “fiction” for him since he cut all bridges of cooperation with them and worked alone from the first months. He wanted to build his own world, relying on huge crew of advisers who failed to shape a dreamy image of popular president who feels citizens, works for them and avoids protocols, bureaucracy, extravagance manifestations and pomp of power. They however failed, and the president seemed outside history many times. In fact, Ennahda might have frequently and deliberately humiliated him to show that he could not govern without them and that they may not leave anyone out of their grip.
Overseas, Dr. Hachmi Hamdi, a politician and owner of Al-Mustakillah channel, whose party – Popular Petition – surprised the public in the recent elections, aspires to play a role in the presidential race, depending in his campaign on Skype and television and relying on tribal ties that enabled him to sweep areas such as Sidi Bouzid, Gafsa and Kairouan and invests his history as a former leader of Ennahda.
Republican Party may invest the power of feminist movements in Tunisia to push his secretary general to the front of the presidential race as a sole woman acting on behalf of half the society:
Maya Jribi: She was born in 1960. She is a veteran politician who has enjoyed popularity. Her candidacy is considered a consensual solution if some Republican Party leaders insist on not nominating Chebbi, who has many differences within the party that has newly united.
