‘Let the People Be Victorious’: Nucleus of a political party supporting Tunisian president

Two weeks before the legislative elections scheduled for Tunisia on December 17, founding members of the “Let the People Be Victorious” initiative supporting President Kais Saied announced the readiness of 400 candidates out of the total number of 1,055 candidates for parliamentary seats to join the initiative supporting the president.

This merger comes with the aim of ensuring the continuation of the path initiated by the president, while Mohamed Ali Boughdiri, one of the founders of “Let the People Be Victorious” said that the initiative can form a parliamentary bloc that supports the president’s decisions, explaining that the initiative includes political activists who hold an ideology contrary to what prevails in the political arena and carries an alternative for the Tunisian people.

Nucleus of the president's party

Observers believe that the “Let the People Be Victorious” initiative may be the nucleus of a new political party that carries the ideas of President Kais Saied and defends the path he is taking.

This is reinforced by the crisis situation that the president alone is going through as he confronts the Brotherhood movement, which was most affected by the July 25 path, and the civil parties that the president sought to marginalize, blaming them for the confusion that the country has known since 2011.

While President Saied receives criticism from both Ennahda and the parties accusing him of dictatorship, in addition to the severe economic crisis in Tunisia that forced it to resort to the International Monetary Fund, the political party's choice comes logically to support the president on the path he started.

Ennahda’s ambitions collapse

In contrast to the support that the new party will provide to President Saied, if the odds are correct and it enters the scene, the new party will demolish the ambitions set by the Ennahda movement, in which it is betting on the end of the July 25 path with the departure of Saied from office, as his presidential term will end in 2023.

Although the new constitution allows Saied to run for another presidential term, Ennahda is betting on his loss of popularity in the face of the economic crisis that is putting pressure on the majority of the people, in addition to the accusations with which the arena is filled describing Saied as a dictator.

Conclusion of the roadmap

In mid-December, Tunisia will conclude the roadmap announced by President Saied a year ago, which stipulated holding a referendum on the constitution on July 25, 2022 and legislative elections on December 17, 2022.

The expected elections are taking place in an unstable atmosphere, as the arena witnesses reciprocal accusations and questioning legitimacy, at a time when the street is preoccupied with the repercussions of the Ukrainian-Russian war on prices.

Due to this atmosphere, observers believe that the parliament that will result in the elections will not be a solution, but rather will increase the complications of the scene, especially since some parties say that the procedures for preparing for the elections are permeated with suspicions of illegality, while others believe that the next parliament will carry Tunisia’s absent stability.