TUNIS, Tunisia

Tunisia’s Ennahda movement said it refuses to engage in a “sham” dialogue that deepens the current political crisis in the North African nation.

On Thursday, Tunisian President Kais Saied pledged to issue a decree soon to hold a national dialogue in Tunisia.

“This dialogue is [a new attempt] to deepen the political crisis when the economic and financial situation is on the verge of collapse,” Ennahda said in a statement late Friday.

The movement, which had 53 out of 217 seats in the dissolved parliament, said it rejects the “sham, selective and exclusionary dialogue" called by Saied, blaming the Tunisian president for “the government's failure to prepare an effective structural reform plan.”

Ennahda went on to call for "cooperation for the success of a serious and comprehensive dialogue that leads to solid political stability and creates an appropriate climate for the implementation of an economic rescue plan that can no longer be postponed.”

In January, Saied launched an online survey with the aim of "enhancing citizens' participation in the democratic transition process". He also plans to hold a referendum in June on the shape of the political system in the country.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis since July 25, 2021, when Saied dismissed the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority, in a move decried by opponents as a “coup.” He later dissolved the parliament in March after lawmakers held a session to revoke his measures.

The North African country is also going through a severe economic crisis aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic amid the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar