Summary:

On 19 December 2022, a judge ordered the arrest of former Tunisian Prime Minister and Ennahdha Party leader Ali Larayedh, linking him to an investigation into Ennahdha’s alleged sending of foreign fighters abroad. Larayedh previously served as the Minster of the Interior and as the Prime Minister before leaving public service in 2014. He has remained involved in leadership of the Ennahdha party. Ennahdha decried the arrest, claiming it was a politically motivated diversion of attention from low voter turnout for the 17 December 2022 elections. The arrest follows an ongoing series of summons and house arrests for Ennahdha leader Rached Ghannouchi who has been linked to multiple terrorism-related investigations in recent years.

Outlook:  

Ennahdha continues to play a divisive role on the Tunisian political and social stage, with many staunch opponents and supporters. The motivations and legal basis for the questioning and prosecution of the party’s leaders remains hotly debated, however, recent developments have not been particularly disruptive from a security or stability perspective, even if deemed newsworthy. Like many bodies that were once able to mobilize supporters, Ennahdha’s ability to play a meaningfully disruptive role on the current political and economic stage remains to seen as President Kais Saied’s political reforms play out.

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