Tunisia's Ennahda party leader, Rached Ghannouchi, has retained his post as the parliament's speaker after lawmakers failed to receive the required number of votes during a no-confidence motion over his violations of the authority's regulations, Ghannouchi's second deputy, Tariq al-Fititi, said on Thursday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2020) Tunisia's Ennahda party leader, Rached Ghannouchi, has retained his post as the parliament's speaker after lawmakers failed to receive the required number of votes during a no-confidence motion over his violations of the authority's regulations, Ghannouchi's second deputy, Tariq al-Fititi, said on Thursday.
The removal of a speaker can be achieved if at least 109 lawmakers in the parliament support a vote of no confidence.
"Ninety-seven legislators have passed a no-confidence motion, and 18 were nullified," al-Fititi said following a parliamentary session.
A total of 133 lawmakers participated in the vote. Ennahda's members and the party-allied Al Karama coalition abstained from participating in the voting procedure.
The closed-door ballot process lasted for around two hours.
In late May, lawmakers of Tunisia's four main parliament blocs demanded that Ghannouchi not intervene in the state's foreign policy, as the speaker congratulated Libya's western-based Government of National Accord for recapturing the strategic al-Watiya airbase and other areas from the rival Libyan National Army, without talking to the parliamentary members.
President Kais Saied slammed Ghannouchi's move, saying that Tunisia is one of the countries that has been most affected by the conflict in Libya, and the response to anyone "who wanted to cause trouble" would be strong.
Tunisia has adopted a neutral stance in regard to the Libyan issue. In mid-July, Foreign Minister Noureddine Erray said that Tunisia and neighboring Algeria are "the only states that do not have an agenda in Libya."
