Tunisia's Islamists Seek 'Consensual' Presidential Candidate

Tunisia's main Islamist party on Thursday urged politicians to agree on a "consensual" presidential candidate, to assuage tensions that have plagued the country since the 2011 revolution.

"We call on political parties to find a consensual candidate for the presidency, someone independent or who belongs to a political party," said Ali Larayedh, a former premier and senior Ennahda member.

The chosen candidate for elections due later this year, "who would benefit from wide support," and allow for "less division and more unity," Larayedh told a news conference, without offering any names.

"We are willing not to submit a candidate... Even if there is no consensus, Ennahda will not necessarily put forward a candidate."

He said contacts with other political groupings would begin on Thursday.

Tunisia has been rocked by Islamist violence and political crises since the uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, culminating with the assassination of two opposition politicians last year.

Following months of heated negotiations, the Ennahda-led coalition government and its opponents agreed in January to parliamentary and presidential polls in 2014, under an accord which also saw the Islamist hand power to an independent administration.

The date of the two polls has yet to be agreed, but the electoral commission earlier this week proposed that the legislative elections take place in October, with the first round of the presidential election being held in November.

International Crisis Group, the Brussels-based think tank, recently called on the various parties to pursue dialogue to avoid a new crisis, warning that the democratic transition was not yet complete.

"The challenge is to prolong the consensus that emerged from the national dialogue and prevent the return of political polarization, even through potentially divisive elections," the ICG said.

Rather than focusing only on power-sharing, which it said would only work if the elections resulted in a "reasonable balance" between the Islamists and secularists, political parties should consider "limiting the power of electoral winners and offering assurances to losers."