Tunisian Lawmakers Accuse Parliament Speaker Of Dragging Country Into Outside Conflicts

CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd May, 2020) Lawmakers of the four political parties in Tunisia issued a joint statement on Thursday, demanding that the parliament speaker Rached Ghannouchi does not interfere in the country's foreign policy and explains at a next legislative meeting his congratulatory message to the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA).

The GNA's press service said on Tuesday that Ghannouchi had congratulated the head of Libya's internationally-recognized government, Fayez Sarraj, on the capture of Al-Watiya airbase near Tunisia's border.

"The parliament speaker does not have legal powers, as per the constitution and internal order of the parliament, allowing him to express a position on behalf of the parliament without familiarizing the lawmakers with it, or for which there is no consensus among them," the statement issued by the Heart of Tunisia political party's press service read.

The letter is signed by the heads of four blocs, including the Heart of Tunisia, the Reform Front Party (El Isla), the Future Movement, and Tahya Tounes.

The lawmakers noted that the speaker's opinion did not represent the entire parliament's position.

The politicians went on to say that Ghannouchi "intervenes in Tunisia's foreign policy and drags the country into the internal conflicts of other countries, as well as the battle of axes in the region, which contradicts the official position."

The lawmakers called for putting forward this issue for discussion at the next parliamentary meeting.

Tunisia's neighboring Libya is split between the two rival administrations � an elected parliament in the country's east, supported by the Libyan National Accord, and the GNA in the country's west � since 2011, when long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed by US-supported Islamic extremists.