Petition not to run: What is Ghannouchi’s fate in the Brotherhood Ennahda leadership?

The Tunisian Brotherhood Ennahda movement has entered a new stage of political change, in accordance with the conditions in Tunisia and the coup against the most important leader in the international Brotherhood and the founder of the Ennahda movement, Rached Ghannouchi.

Ennahda began the campaign to oust Ghannouchi with about 100 Ennahda leaders signing a petition demanding that Ghannouchi not run to head the movement at the eleventh conference to be held at the end of 2020.

An Ennahda official called on Ghannouchi to abide by not amending Chapter 31 of the movement’s bylaws, which states that “no member has the right to lead the movement for more than two consecutive terms.”

Samir Delo, Abdul Latif Al-Makki, Zubair Al-Shahoudi, Noureddine Al-Arbawi, Fathi Al-Ayadi and Imad Al-Hamami are among the most prominent names that signed the petition calling for Ghannouchi to step down.

Ennahda experienced divisions during the formation of the new Tunisian government led by Hicham El Mechichi, as the Brotherhood did not have a unified position in this regard.

According to reports citing sources close to the Ennahda movement in August, the division occurred between those wanting to cautiously support Mechichi’s government and those who refuse to support it because the movement would emerge empty-handed.

The sources added that those supporting Mechichi formed a majority of nearly 80%, and they say that there is no harm in leaving power temporarily “in order to return stronger at a later time.”

They attributed their opinion to the difficulty of the current situation in Tunisia, so difficult decisions will be taken in the coming period, meaning it is better in their opinion for the movement not to be linked to them before public opinion. This group of supporters believes that Ennahda can also impede government action through the parliament.

Riyad Jarad, the official spokesman for the General Union of Tunisian Students, believes that the talk of a petition to stop Ghannouchi's candidacy for a new term exposes the falsehood of the democratic model within the Ennahda movement, as well as confirms the dictatorship of the Brotherhood guide in Tunisia.

Jarad told the Islamist Movements Portal that the petition reveals the weakness of these people and is evidence that Ennahda is Ghannouchi and Ghannouchi is Ennahda. He added that everyone is a competitor for the leadership of the Tunisian Brotherhood, but there is no leader capable of removing Ghannouchi from the leadership unless it is issued by the international organization run by Qatar and Turkey.

The petition to oust Ghannouchi could be described as a “maneuver and media consumption” by the Brotherhood for their supporters or opponents, but in general it reveals the fact that Ghannouchi represents a main force in the international organization, Jarar noted.

He explained that Ghannouchi will remain in the leadership of the Tunisian Brotherhood until his last breath, adding that talk about Ghannouchi stepping down and leaving the leadership of Ennahda is frequent and constitutes nothing but media consumption to keep Ennahda in the spotlight.