Tunisia: Islamist rulers say six months until new elections

Tunisia's ruling Islamist-led Ennahda party said Friday that they expect new elections to be held under the country's political transition plan within six months, according to Reuters.

Ennahda has agreed to step down from power as part of a brokered plan with the opposition parties to end the political crisis. An interim, caretaker government is scheduled to subsequently lead the country prior to the parliamentary and presidential elections, but tensions between Ennahda and the opposition are still delicate and no plan has been put into motion yet. According to the Reuters report, both the opposition and Ennahda still must agree on the final version of the new constitution as well as electoral commission members for new election oversight, but limited trust between the two groups has stalled these decisions.

“There is a preliminary agreement among the political parties to hold elections in six months after the installation of the election committee,” said senior Ennahda official Ameur Larayedh. “There are some problems with the election commission composition, but we are working on that.”

Opposition parties fear that Ennahda will delay its leadership resignation during negotiations in upcoming weeks. Initially, the Islamist leadership has resisted the mandatory resignation stipulation as part of the transitory agreement. The election date is cited as one of the most sensitive issues up for discussion during this period according to the report.

Tunisia has experienced a period of political turmoil and crisis since the asassination of an opposition leader in July.