The key has been getting the approval of the majority party in parliament Ennahda.

It’s been a four month battle for Tunisia’s President Kaïs Saied and his Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh.

After the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party failed to form a government that met parliamentary approval, the Prime Minister had another go.

Saied warned this week that if it did not pass a no-confidence vote he would be forced to go back to the people.

The government includes Nizar Yaich as Finance Minister, Nourredine Erran in charge of foreign affairs and Imed Hazgui holding the defence portfolio. 

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President Kaïs Saied says he’ll dissolve Parliament today if it rejects the government proposed by his Prime Minister.

The majority Ennhada Party is the stumbling block.

The Prime Minister from this moderate Islamist party named by President  Kaïs Saied stepped down when  he could not find parliamentary approval for a government. 

Saied then named another premier Elyes Fakhfakh who is having similar difficulty because Ennhada is withholding support.

It’s being called the biggest constitutional crisis since Tunisia became independent from France 64 years  ago.

The political impasse aside, Tunisia faces a major economic hurdle when  the four-year International Monetary Fund aid package comes to and end in April.

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The contest is between two outsiders who beat off the heavyweight establishment figures among the two dozen other contestant.

Conservative lawyer Kaïs Saïed and television mogul Nabil Karoui are the choice of an electorate disillusioned with the performance of the traditional leaders.

Neither managed anything near an outright win, however. Saïed won  18.4% of the vote with Karoui palming 15.6%

In parliamentary elections last week, voters gave the nod to the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party and Karoui’s Qalb Tounes – the Heart of Tunisia.

On a turnout of only 42% of the seven million registered voters, Ennahda won 52 of the 217 parliamentary seats well short of a majority.

It has pledged not to enter into an alliance with  Qalb Tounes so there will be some interesting coalition buildingsin the weeks ahead.

 Karoui was released on bail last week, having been jailed since August 27 to face charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

It was feared his incarceration would jeopardize the crediblity of  the elections which , according to local and international observers, underpinned the Tunisian democracy.

It is not clear whether 54-year-old Karoui will , contest the outcome of the election in which he had barely two days to campaign.

The populist and charismatic self-made businessman has been dubbed Karoui Macaroni because of the money and food he has doled out to Tunisians – 15% of whom live below the poverty line.

Karoui recognized his strength lies attracting the the poor and the one fifth of Tunisians who are feeling the pinch unemployment, rising prices and a stagnating economy.

His campaign suffered a blow when it merged he had bought the services of a Canadian lobbyist  company to secure meeting with US President Donald Trump and others.

It is illegal under Tunisian  law to get help or finance from abroad.

To compound matters the chief executive of the lobbyist group is a former Israel intelligence operative

The head of the observer team from the Johannesburg-based Electoral Commission for a Sustainable Democracy in Africa, former Mauritian president Cassam Uteem,  commended the orderliness of the elections but called, in the name of fairness,  for Karoui to be allowed to participate fully.

Saïed also expressed disquiet about his opponent being jailed. He opted against taking  advantage of this and declined to campaign for the run-off poll.

The 62 year-old, who speaks classical Arabic, has the support of Ennahda.

The backing of that party’s machine and funding from countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia will stand him on good stead.

In supporting a man who rejects the status quo, Tunsians have a man who favor the return of the death penalty.

He says his wife will not become first lady if he is elected and that he will continue to live in his moderate home rather than move into the presidential palace. 

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It hoping the by controlling the legislature it will overcome the disappointment of having its leader beaten in the presidential race.

The Ennahda Party expects it vast organization to prevail in Sunday’s poll.

Its major rival, the Nabil Tounes alliance of the late President Beji Caid Essebsi, who died in office last July, has virtually disintegrated.

Independents are expected to make a strong showing on Sunday, as they did in the first round of the Presidential election last month.

The second round of that contest, between conservative lawyer Kaïs Saïed and television mogul Nabil Karoui, currently jailed and awaiting trial on tax evasion and money laundering charges, will be on October 13. 

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Nabil Karoui, in jail awaiting trial on tax evasion and money laundering charges, is seeking meetings among others with President Donald Trump.

The revelations about Nabil Karoui’s activities come as a bombshell in the supercharged political climate with back-to-back legislative and presidential elections.

Karouis rivals say his $1 million dollar contract with Canadian obeying firm breaks local law forbidding any foreign funding or support for Tunisians running for office.

His Heart of Tunisia Party contests parliament elections on Sunday.

He, himself, goes head to head with lawyer Kaïs Saïed in a presidential run-off a week later.

He has repeatedly failed to get  bail to contest that poll.

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The country’s appeal court  yesterday ruled he cannot get bail while facing charges of tax evasion and money  laundering.

At this stage a presidential hopeful should be looking to boost his parliamentary support in Sunday’s legislative elections.

Nabil Karoui, who has been in jail since August 27, can only  hope to retain the popular support he attracted in the first round of the presidential race in mid-September.

He ran second to lawyer Kais Saied in that field of 27 candidates.

Karoui’s supporters say the Tunisian government is pressing judicial authorities to keep him detained.

Senior members of his Qalf Tounes Party say what is happening is a charade.

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Both were seen as outsiders going into  last Sunday’s election were the anti-system result reflects voters rejection of the political status quo.

The results announced yesterday shocked political establishment including Prime Minister Youssef Chahed and former interim President Moncef Marzouki.

Moderate Islamist Abdelfattah Mourou was in third place.

Kaïs Saïed won 18,4 percent of the vote ahead of jailed media mogul Nabil Karoui who got 15,6 percent.

The electoral authority has not named a date for next month’s run-off which will follow legislative elections.

Saïed’s fierce independence and strong anti-corruption platform struck a note with voters looking to replace President Bejii Caid Essebsi who died in July.  

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But it has not produced a winner to succeed the late President Bejii Caid Essebsi.

Voters will be back for  run-off by early November.

Tunisia has retained its status as a democratic model in a troubled part of the world.

Both headed for elections, Tunisia’s larger neighbours Algeria and Libya  would like to have some of that orderliness rub off.

Much depends on whether the final winner – which looks like a contest between television mogul Nabil Karoui and law professor Kaïs Saïed – is able to get to grips with the economic stagnation and unemployment that are preventing Tunisians from enjoying the fruits of their hard-won democracy.

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