FRANCE PRESS

TUNIS: Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda party tried Wednesday to restore confidence in its ability to form a coalition government with secular groups following fears that the party was seeking an Islamic caliphate type of rule.
The fears were sparked by an Internet clip showing Ennahda’s No. 2 tow, Hamadi Jebali, telling supporters: “We are in the sixth caliphate, God willing.”

Jebali said his comments had been misinterpreted, and stressed that Ennahda was only interested in democratic governance.
“Ennahda’s choice is a democratic system which derives its legitimacy from the people through fair and transparent elections,” he said.

The caliphate was a system for governing Islamic empires based on Shariah law. There were five caliphates under different dynasties until Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk abolished the last of them early last century.
The secularist Ettakatol had suspended coalition government talks with Ennahda Tuesday in protest against Jebali’s earlier comments.

Ennahda won Tunisia’s first democratic election after a revolution in January which ousted autocratic leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and inspired the “Arab Spring” uprisings.

Separately Wednesday, the Tunisian lawyer for former Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, detained in Tunisia pending extradition proceedings, said he could be forced off the case after a clash with a police officer. Mabrouk Kourchid told AFP that an officer had filed a complaint against him for obstruction of duty.