TUNIS: Tunisia has less than two months to organise snap elections following the death of president Beji Caid Essebsi, amid uncertainty over who could step forward to run the North African country.
Essebsi, the country’s first head of state elected in nationwide polls, died Thursday at the age of 92, triggering fears of political unrest in a country seen as a rare success story following the Arab Spring uprisings.
Newspapers yesterday paid tribute to “the father of consensus”, while festivals were cancelled and the government declared seven days of mourning.
“Our pain is great, our sorrow is immense,” read an editorial in French language daily Le Temps.
Essebsi’s body was set to be taken from the military hospital of Tunis yesterday to the presidential palace in nearby Carthage for a private burial.
Within hours of Essebsi’s death, parliament speaker Mohamed Ennaceur was sworn in as interim president, who under the constitution has 90 days to organise a presidential election.
The electoral commission said the poll would “probably” be held on September 15, two months earlier than planned.
Foreign governments including that of former colonial power France have hailed Essebsi’s role in Tunisia’s democratic transition, with nearby Algeria and Mauritania declaring three days of mourning.
The main funeral ceremony is to take place today in the presence of several foreign heads of state, according to Prime Minister Youssef Chahed.
The birthplace of the Arab Spring revolts, Tunisia is the only country affected by the uprisings to have pushed through democratic reforms — despite political unrest, a sluggish economy and jihadist attacks.
Islamist extremists have staged repeated deadly attacks since the overthrow of Ben Ali, raising fears for the country’s fragile democracy and throttling its tourism industry.
Following Ben Ali’s departure, Essebsi founded the secularist Nidaa Tounes (Call of Tunis) party, which he led to victory at the polls in 2014.
The party formed a coalition with the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha, which lasted four years before the two parties split.
But Nidaa Tounes has struggled to overcome bitter internal divisions between premier Chahed and the president’s son, Hafedh Caid Essebsi, leading to the premier being sidelined from Nidaa Tounes and forming his own rival party, Tahia Tounes.
The president’s death also comes amid a debate over who will be able to run in the next presidential elections.– AFP
