Brussels, 22/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - A delegation of the Democratic Initiative, the main Tunisian democratic opposition formation, was welcomed on Tuesday at the European Parliament in Strasbourg by MEPs of the Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL and PES Groups. This delegation was mainly composed of Mohamed Ali Halouani, candidate for presidential elections to be held in Tunisia on 24 October. The delegation was received on behalf of the Greens by French MEP Hélène Flautre, for the GUE/NGL by a delegation headed by Swedish MEP Eva-Britt Svensson, and for the PES by a delegation chaired by Italian MEP Pasqualina Napoletano.
Accompanied by Mohamed-Lakdar Ellala, President of the National Council of the Ettajdid movement (ex-communist), Mohamed Ali Halouani presented the groups with the programme of the Democratic Initiative, which, in addition to the Ettajdid movement, groups various progressist and democratic components and figures of the Tunisian political scene. The programme mainly aims to review the Constitution which, according to the candidate for the presidential elections, "opens the way to a life-long presidency".
Mohamed Ali Halouani is currently with Mohamed Bouchiha of the People's Unity Party (PUP) and Mounir El Béji of the Liberal Social Party (PSL), one of the three opponents to have put forward a candidature for the constitutional Council. He will be opposed to outgoing president, Zine Abidine Ben Ali. In power since 1987, Ben Ali is running for his own succession for a fourth five-year mandate, made possible by an amendment to the Constitution.