Tunisia’s parliament elected Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi as its speaker on Wednesday, one month after the moderate Islamist party finished first in last month's elections. Ghannouchi secured 123 out of 217 for his bid following a deal with the Qalb Tounes (Heart of Tunisia) party of media mogul and defeated presidential candidate Nabil Karoui. Qalb Tounes parliamentarian Samira Chaouachi was elected first vice speaker of the parliament. Ennahda now has until Friday to name its candidate for prime minister.
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Tunisia’s main political parties on Thursday rejected a proposal to appoint a prime minister from the moderate Islamist party Ennahda, which finished first in the Oct. 6 parliamentary elections. The party won 52 out of 217 seats, well short of the required number to govern on its own. If Ennahda fails to form a Cabinet within two months, another party could be asked to try to form a government. Political deadlock risks undermining Tunisia’s efforts to improve the economy and fight terrorism.
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Algeria’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered the detention of former Minister of Culture Khalid Toumi on corruption charges. Toumi is accused of wasting public money and awarding illegal privileges. He joins a growing list of former officials and well-connected businessmen arrested in a crackdown on corruption following President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s resignation in April. Meanwhile, weekly anti-regime demonstrations continue, with Algerians demanding that the Dec. 12 presidential elections be delayed until more of the ruling elite steps down.
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Algeria’s election authority over the weekend announced the final list of candidates running in the Dec. 12 presidential elections. Five candidates, including three close to former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, made the cut. Meanwhile, the weekly anti-regime demonstrations that brought Bouteflika down in April continue despite his resignation, with Algerians demanding that elections be delayed until more of the ruling elite steps down.
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Tunisia’s President Kais Saied approved on Tuesday the dismissal of the country’s foreign and defense ministers, less than a week after taking his oath. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed appointed, after consultation with the president, Karim Jamoussi as foreign minister and Sabri Bachtobji as defense minister. The changes come as parliament prepares to hold coalition talks. The moderate Islamist party Ennahda came in first in the country’s Oct. 6 parliamentary elections, winning 52 out of 217 seats — although it is well short of the required number of seats needed to govern.
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Tunisia's new president, whose stolid demeanor earned him the nickname "RoboCop," has vowed to combat corruption.
Conservative jurist Kais Saied was sworn in as Tunisia’s new president on Wednesday after a landslide victory in this month’s election. In his oath of office before parliament, the 61-year-old vowed to fight corruption and shore up the freedoms gained in the years since the country's 2011 Arab Spring revolution. The Oct. 13 election marked a strong rebuke of Tunisia's political elites, with Saied and media mogul Nabil Karoui making it to the run-off by campaigning as outsiders.
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Conservative Kais Saeid has won a landslide victory in Tunisia’s second round of the presidential elections.
Tunisia’s electoral commission announced Monday that a preliminary count shows conservative jurist Kais Saied won Sunday’s presidential election with almost 73% of the vote. His opponent, media mogul Nabil Karoui, conceded defeat earlier on Monday. The electoral commission said turnout stood at 55%. The election marked a strong rebuke of Tunisia's political elites, with both candidates who made it to the run-off campaigning as outsiders.
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Exit polls from Sunday's nationwide parliamentary elections suggest that the pro-Islamic Ennahda came in first, followed by the newly established Qalb Tounes, or Heart of Tunisia, led by jailed tycoon Nabil Karaoui, who will be in the Oct. 13 presidential runoff.
Tunisia’s moderate Islamist party Ennahda won the most votes in Sunday’s parliamentary election, a party spokesman said, citing what he called preliminary results. Earlier on Sunday, jailed media magnate Nabil Karoui's Heart of Tunisia party also claimed victory. An exit poll by Sigma Conseil showed Ennahda in first place with 17.5% of votes and Heart of Tunisia in second place with 15.6%. Preliminary results will be announced on Oct. 10 and official results on Nov. 17.
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Tunisia’s electoral commission on Wednesday rejected calls to postpone the presidential elections. The second round is scheduled for Oct. 13. The commission “can neither advance nor postpone the date of the elections under the constitution,” commission head Nabil Baffoun said. A spokesman for imprisoned candidate Nabil Karoui had called for suspending the elections as long as he remains in prison. Karoui, who owns Nessma TV channel, was detained Aug. 23 on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering. The media mogul came in second in Tunisia’s election last month, behind conservative jurist Kais Saied.
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Algeria on Thursday announced the arrest of the leader of the National Liberation Front, which has ruled Algeria since independence in 1962. Mohamed Djemai is accused of “destroying official files and documents.” Authorities are simultaneously cracking down on protesters demanding that more figures linked to the former regime of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down. Fodil Boumala, a prominent opposition activist and anti-government protester, was arrested Wednesday, fellow activists and a lawyer said on Thursday. Meanwhile, weekly street protests now face a clampdown after army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Saleh issued orders this week to stop outside protesters from entering the capital.
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Deposed Tunisian president dies in Saudi exile
Former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali died in exile Thursday, days after Tunisia held its second presidential elections since his ouster ushered in democratic governance. The 83-year-old had been living in Saudi Arabia since the 2011 popular uprising that began the Arab Spring. In the elections, the conservative law professor Kais Saied and the imprisoned media mogul Nabil Karoui have advanced to the second round of the presidential elections, marking a sharp rejection of the country’s political establishment. Read More
A Tunisian court is refusing to release Nabil Karoui from prison even after he advanced to the second round of the presidential elections, his lawyer said Wednesday. The media mogul is under investigation in a money laundering probe. Karoui came in second in Sunday's election, behind conservative jurist Kais Saied. Read More
Tunisia’s electoral commission announced Tuesday that conservative law professor Kais Saied and imprisoned media mogul Nabil Karoui will advance to the second round of the presidential elections, likely to be held next month. Saied, who ran as an independent, won 18.4% of the votes in Sunday’s election. Karoui, who is under investigation in a money laundering probe, took 15.6%. The results mark a sharp rejection of the country’s political establishment. Read More
Algerians protested the decision to hold elections in December as their demands are left unmet and many activists and opposition members linger in jail.