Jabhat Al Islah, a Salafi party, has announced that it will enter the upcoming legislative elections under joint lists with the National Independence Party (NIP), the latest political party to be formed in Tunisia. Announced at a press conference on 7 September, NIP said it is a centre-right party, which strives to safeguard the revolution and defend the aspirations of the poorer classes and marginalised regions. Sif Allah Bouzayda, president of NIP, said that Islam is a component of the party’s identity. NIP is believed to be made up of members of the dissolved League for the Defence of the Revolution (LDR), formed in 2011, and considered then as the “militant” arm of Ennahdha. LDR were dissolved in early 2014 as a result of the national dialogue deals that led to the ratification of Tunisia’s constitution. This Islah Party-NIP alliance, in 19 legislative constituencies, might be the result of a 3-year process of rapprochement between Al Islah and the disenchanted youth groups that were close to Ennahdha, but not members of it. Rached Ghannouchi told a Lebanese newspaper that he is confident Ennahdha would win the upcoming 26 October parliamentary elections.
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http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/216572
