Tahya Tounes Threatens to Prosecute Fake New Promoters

Arab World

April 28th, 7:27am

Tunis - Mongi al-Saidani

Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh. (Reuters)

Tahya Tounes, member of the Tunisian government coalition, threatened to prosecute persons who are trying to spread rumors and fake news about the movement and its members. The politburo of the movement, led by former prime minister Youssef Chahed, issued a statement condemning the campaigns against its leaders. It called upon all political parties to adhere to national unity and focus all efforts on confronting the coronavirus pandemic. The movement issued its statement days after asking the Interior Ministry to provide security protection for its member Mabrouk Korchid, after he received a death threat through a video posted on social media. The development shows the depth of political differences between the ruling coalition and opposition parties, observers said. Since the announcement of new government, led by Elyes Fakhfakh, a number of political parties have been hoping for more members to be included in the coalition, such as union representatives. Opposition sources believe that the Democratic Current Party, led by Mohamed Abbou, is refusing to include other parties in an attempt to maintain his party’s power within the government. Member of Ennahda movement, Belkacem Hassan, confirmed that the prime minister granted some ministers broad powers, which might cause confusion over jurisdiction. He pointed out that the prime minister granted Abbou, who is also Minister of Public Service, Governance, and Fight against Corruption, the authority to oversee other ministries. Political analyst Naji al-Abbasi told Asharq al-Awsat that there have been deep disagreements within the government coalition since its formation. He explained that the leftist Democratic Current and nationalist People's Movement still function with the mentality of opposition parties, which led parties, like the Islamist Ennahda, to pursue political consensus to overcome the differences within the government coalition. The analyst predicted this will hamper government work in the coming months.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2256676/tahya-tounes-threatens-prosecute-fake-new-promoters