By Seif Eddin Tarabolsi
TUNIS
The last secretary-general of Tunisia's now-defunct Democratic Constitutional Assembly Party on Thursday asserted that candidates with links to ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali would enjoy a competitive edge in parliamentary polls slated to kick off Sunday.
Mohamed Ghariani said the Constitutional List, which includes several candidates affiliated with the ousted president and the latter's now-defunct ruling party, would have a "noticeable presence" in the elections – Tunisia's first since a popular uprising in 2011 ended Ben Ali's decades-long rule.
Ghariani called on Ben Ali's supporters to adapt to the North African country's new democratic climate.
He expressed hope that Tunisians would be able to form a national unity government after elections to signal a departure from Ben Ali's policy of marginalizing opponents or Tunisians with different political points of view.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency, he ruled out the possibility that members of the Constitutional Current would support a specific presidential candidate in elections slated for November.
Ghariani's Constitutional Current includes a number of political parties that used to be linked with the ousted president.
He expects members of his group to form their own bloc in the incoming parliament, saying that Constitutional Current candidates would likely win between 25 and 30 seats in the 217-seat assembly.
He expressed optimism about the Constitutional Current's future prospects.
"True, members of the current are not united now, but I am sure they will form their own unified bloc in parliament after the elections," Ghariani asserted.
"We hope this bloc will sow the seeds for reviving the constitutional family, but on correct foundations this time," he added.
He went on to say that the Ben Ali regime had done everything possible to marginalize its Islamist opponents, noting that the latter had managed to come to power after 20 years of oppression.
"Coexistence is actually the only way out," Ghariani said. "We need stability. That's why a national unity government is the solution."
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