Tunisia's ruling Al-Nahda Party concluded its ninth congress this week with a commitment to consensus, writes Lassaad Ben Ahmed in Tunis Consensus was the order of the day at the ninth congress of the ruling Tunisian Islamist party Al-Nahda, held in the capital Tunis on 12-15 July. No only did the party seek to mend rifts and restore unity within its own ranks, a sign of which was the return of Sheikh Abdel-Fattah Mourou, one of the movement's founding fathers, after a break of more than 20 years, but it also expressed its wish to see consensus in the country's coalition government. In his opening address to the congress, Al-Nahda leader Rached Al-Ghannouchi said that the coalition had been strained by the decision to extradite the former Libyan prime minister Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi to Libya, but that Al-Nahda wanted to see consensus restored. Tunisia's ruling Al-Nahda has re-elected Al-Ghannouchi to lead the moderate Islamist party for another two years, sources told Reuters on Monday, an outcome that could go some way to reassuring secularists worried about a slide into religious government. Banned under Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali, who was toppled last year in mass protests that sparked the Arab Spring, Al-Ghannouchi had taken more than 70 per cent of the vote at Al-Nahda's first public congress that began last Thursday. Al-Nahda wanted to see the coalition expanded, Al-Ghannouchi said, in order to allow other parties to participate in the government. This intention was later confirmed by Prime Minister Hamadi Al-Jebali, a leading figure in Al-Nahda, who spoke of plans to reform the government and "dismiss ministers who have not demonstrated their competence and have not made a positive contribution since their appointment in January." The movement also set its sights beyond Tunisia, with historical and economic circumstances opening the way for the Islamist project in Tunisia and in the other countries of the Arab Spring offering a model of democracy, freedom, dignity and development based on Islamic values, Al-Ghannouchi told participants at the congress. This model could serve as a basis for the revival of the Arab peoples and for an Islamic platform for human harmony, Al-Ghannouchi said. This is the most important message that the party sought to convey to the Tunisian public, hoping to use the congress to break away from the image of the Islamist trend as inclined to fanaticism, rigidity and insularism and open to wider universal values. A second important message that the congress sought to convey was that the Party remained true to the goals of the Tunisian Revolution against the regime of former president Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali in January 2011 and to those who died for it. "Do not betray God, or betray your trust," Al-Ghannouchi said, citing the Quranic verse (Al-Anfal: 27) and implying that any betrayal of the Revolution would be a betrayal of God. Al-Ghannouchi said that Islam was capable of embracing the values that inspired the Tunisian Revolution, such as dignity and social justice, as well as theories of enlightenment and modernisation. "We want to reassure the Tunisian people that the country is in trustworthy hands. I swear by God that we will not betray the aims of the Revolution," Al-Ghannouchi said. The Al-Nahda congress was attended by representatives of political parties from across the Arab world and Europe. Of particular note was Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal, who received a warm welcome from Al-Nahda leaders and conference participants who chanted, "the people want to free Palestine." The latter was another message of the congress, and the Palestinian cause is a central principle in Al-Nahda's outlook and an area on which virtually all political parties in Tunisia agree. The party's commitment to the cause was made explicit by president of the Tunisian constituent assembly Mustafa bin Jaafar, who stressed the need to "free all Arab peoples from colonialism and dictatorship, and above all Jerusalem and occupied Palestine." Tunisia's hardline Salafist movement was notable by its absence from the congress, Al-Nahda not having invited representatives of the movement to attend. Though the congress in general passed off peacefully, several journalists were roughed up and had their cameras smashed, forcing the chairman, Abdel-Latif Al-Makki, to issue formal apologies in a press conference. As important as its messages to the public were, the congress also had other more practical business to attend to. The election of the party's president and its internal regulations, including its vision for Tunisia and its position on various social and political concerns and other matters, were major items on the agenda, and discussions lasted late into Sunday evening. Most of the party's internal regulations were passed with an overwhelming majority, and there was near unanimity on the re-election of al-Ghannouchi as the movement's president, he being the only person able to maintain harmony in the movement in the opinion of many conference attendees. Without Al-Ghannouchi, some observers say, Al-Nahda could easily succumb to a rift between moderates and hardliners. A further extraordinary meeting of the party is due within the next 60 days after the forthcoming elections.
