Ennahda Holds Press Conference in Ariana

Houssem Sta Ali | 19 October 2011 | 16 Comments

Ennahda’s political campaign trail passed through Ariana this morning, where Rached Ghannouchi, President, and Hamadi Jbeli, Secretary General, fielded questions from journalists from across the globe.

With the press unanimous in picking Ennahda to come out well ahead after Sunday’s elections, Ghannouchi reflected on the potential outcome, stating, “We think we’re the party of the majority.” However, he went on to add that if another party ended up on top, “We will congratulate the winner and will collaborate with them just as other parties should do the same if we end up winning; Tunisia is in need of everyone. The keyword is reconciliation, our foremost concern is reconciliation in composing the upcoming government without regard to ideological differences.”

There was one circumstance, however, that Ghannouchi said Ennahda was not prepared to accept: “If the elections are falsified, we will join the revolutionary forces.” When asked what meant by ‘revolutionary forces,’ Ghannouchi explained he was referring to those who originally forced ex-president Ben Ali’s ouster in January of this year.

Abdelhamid Jelassi, the director of Ennahda’s political campaign, also stressed reconciliation and compromise. He stated, “The elections are the result of the effort of generations of Tunisians, going back to the 1950’s. We believe the elections to be a competition but not a conflict, and they are not a time to engage in political quarrels”.

Jelassi attributed whatever discord there has been so far in the campaign to “the complexity of the electoral process.”

Tunisia Live reporters questioned Ghannouchi about the party’s stance on minority religious rights. The party leader responded, “Until now, Tunisian society has not been a society of minorities; it’s a Muslim society whose religious minorities are respected.” He went on to add, “Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution and the values of Arabic Islamic culture.” Tunisia is 99% Muslim, but is also home to small Christian and Jewish populations.