Major opposition front boycotts Tunisia’s parliamentary elections

TUNIS, Tunisia

The opposition National Salvation Front said Wednesday it will boycott Tunisia’s upcoming parliamentary elections in December.

"The elections will be held under the supervision of a body that is not neutral and is loyal to the ruling authority,” the front’s head, Ahmed Najib Chebbi, told a press conference in the capital Tunis.

Tunisia will hold parliamentary elections on Dec. 17, amid a deep political crisis in the North African nation.

Chebbi called for holding early elections in Tunisia “under the 2014 Constitution to be supervised by an independent electoral commission that enjoys the confidence of all parties.”

“We extend our hand to all national forces to agree on a national salvation government to deal with the social crisis” in Tunisia, he said.

The National Salvation Front is a major opposition coalition consisting of five parties -- Ennahda Movement, Heart of Tunisia Party, the Dignity Coalition, the Movement Party and Al-Amal Party.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis that aggravated the country's economic conditions since last year, when President Kais Saied ousted the government, suspended parliament and assumed executive authority. He later dissolved the assembly after lawmakers held a session to challenge his measures.

Critics have accused Saied of orchestrating a coup while he insists that his measures were meant to "save" the country.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar