Once-Dominant Tunisian Party Faces Uncertain Future Amidst Government Crackdown
Ennahdha, an Islamist-inspired movement considered Tunisia's main opposition party, has seen its influence wane since President Kais Saied's 2021 power grab.
TUNIS - The party that once dominated Tunisian politics has faded away since President Kais Saied staged a dramatic power grab.
Ennahdha, the Islamist-inspired movement still considered by some Tunisians as the country’s main opposition party, could still bounce back after a devastating government crackdown.
Ennahdha's offices are shuttered and its leaders are either behind bars or in exile.
On July 25, 2021, Saied stunned the country when he suspended parliament and dissolved the government.
Critics denounced this move as a 'coup' ten years after the Arab Spring revolt led to a democratic transition in Tunisia.
Many critics of Saied have been prosecuted and jailed, including Ennahdha leader Rached Ghannouchi.
In February 2023, Ghannouchi was sentenced to 22 years in prison for plotting against the state.
According to a party official, around 150 Ennahdha figures have been imprisoned, prosecuted or forced into exile over the past four years.
Despite this, some believe that Ennahdha is not dead but weakened to the point of clinical death.
It remains the most prominent opposition party in Tunisia's fragmented and fragile political landscape.
Riadh Chaibi, a party official and adviser to Ghannouchi, said that even after being forced into a smaller space, Ennahdha remains relevant as it still has a substantial number of followers.
Chaibi argues that the current government is weaponizing state institutions against its political opponents but that once they are free again like in 2011, Ennahdha will regain its strength.
Since 2011, when Ghannouchi returned from exile to lead the party, Ennahdha had a key role in Tunisian politics for many years, holding the premiership and other senior roles.
But by 2019, the year Saied was elected president, the popularity of the party had already begun waning, winning only a third of the votes it obtained in 2011.
The decline of Ennahdha can be attributed to its failure to improve living standards and address pressing socio-economic issues.
Additionally, the party has been accused of having links with terrorists, which it denies.
Saied refers to the years Ennahdha was in power as 'the black decade' and accuses it of committing crimes against the country.
Despite these accusations, crowds of Tunisians poured into the streets when Saied forced Ennahdha out of power in 2021.
Political analyst Slaheddine Jourchi argues that Ennahdha's rise to power was a poorly prepared adventure and that they had made many mistakes along the way.
Today, the party is mostly active online, issuing statements reacting to prison sentences handed down against critics of Saied.
Historically, Ennahdha has weathered repression in Tunisia before.
Party leaders were jailed or forced into exile under previous autocratic rulers.
Tunisian historian Abdellatif Hannachi believes that the party 'seems to be bending with the wind' and waiting for changes that would allow it to return.
While some see Ennahdha in clear decline, this does not mean that it is disappearing.
The downfall of Ennahdha is not an isolated case as other opposition forces have been crushed as well and dozens of political figures are currently behind bars.
The government under Saied no longer distinguishes between different political ideologies, rights advocate Kamel Jendoubi argues.
He believes that the regime wants to silence anything that thinks, criticizes or resists.
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