Delegates have begun assembling for the start of a dialogue between Tunisia's ruling party and the opposition in a move to end a political crisis in the North African country.


The crisis was sparked by the killing of Mohamed Brahmi, the leader of the left-wing Popular Movement party, on July 25. The opposition blamed the government for failing to maintain security and tolerating the militants it accused of being behind the killing.

On Saturday, delegates gathered at the Palais des Congres for a ceremony during which Ennahda must express its willingness to step down.

The negotiations, which start next week and are expected to run for a month, will concentrate on implementing the roadmap that calls for the establishment of a caretaker administration of technocrats, setting a timetable for new elections and the adoption of the constitution.

The head of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, Abdessatar Ben Moussa, said, “The presidents of the various political parties will sign on today” to the roadmap.

“Ennahda must pledge the government's resignation,” he added.

Last month, Ennahda and the National Salvation Front agreed to begin talks on the transition plan.

The ruling party announced on September 20 that it had accepted the roadmap proposed by the mediators to end the North African country's political stalemate.

“Ennahda announces after examining the proposal... its acceptance and demands that a serious national dialogue is launched to get the country out of the political crisis,” the party said in a statement.

Tunisia, the birthplace of pro-democracy protests across North Africa and the Middle East, is struggling with a democratic changeover after the overthrow of its Western-backed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.