Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki and former Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali have joined the list of contenders for the September 15 presidential election, while Ennahda is seeking a final decision on who will be its candidate.
Jebali, 70, on Tuesday submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission a file of his candidacy as an independent, and confirmed in statements to Tunisian media that he received the recommendation of 11 members of parliament.
The former prime minister, who took office between December 2011 and March 2013, said he ran for the election independently of any party, region or personal interest.Jabali was a prominent Ennahda leader but resigned in late 2014.
Former president Moncef Marzouki, 74, said he would present his candidacy on Wednesday for a candidate for the "Other Tunisia" alliance, which includes the parties of the Movement of Tunisian Will, the Wafa Movement and independents.
His announcement came in a radio interview in which he called for focusing on programs rather than attacking rivals and personal rivalry. Marzouki took the presidency between 2011 and 2014, and lost in the second round of the 2014 elections to the late President Beji Caid Essebsi.
So far, several political figures have announced their candidacy for premature elections, including former Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa, a candidate for the “alternative” party, who had led a technocrat government for a year until February 2015.
There are expectations in Tunisia of the nomination of current Defense Minister Abdel Karim Zubeidi. A parliamentary deputy said Zubeidi will formally submit his candidacy on Wednesday. MPs from Nidaa Tounes said their party supports the defense minister's nomination.
There is also speculation that the current prime minister, Youssef Chahed, will run for president. In a television interview, the witness said he would announce his decision within days, at a time when his party institutions called "Long live Tunisia" to run for president.
For its part, the Ennahda Shura Council is supposed to resume its sessions today to make a final decision on whether the movement will nominate one of its leaders or support a candidate from outside.
The council met last Saturday, and a majority of its members voted in favor of the nomination of a leader of the movement, but the quorum (51 members) was not available to adopt the resolution, which necessitated to keep the Shura Council sessions open.
The movement stressed that it would not remain neutral in these elections, contrary to what it did in the 2014 elections.