Breakaway Party to Field Tunisia’s Premier Chahed for Presidency

(Bloomberg) -- The Tunisian party that broke off from one of the government’s key government coalition members will field Prime Minister Youssef Chahed in presidential elections, the TAP news agency reported Wednesday.

The Tahya Tounes party’s secretary-general, Slim Azzabi, announced Chahed’s candidacy. The vote was moved forward to Sept. 15 after the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi last week. The speaker of parliament is now the interim president, but under the constitution can only hold the role for 90 days.

Essebsi’s death has thrust the North African country’s already tumultuous political scene into deeper uncertainty, with the moderate Islamist Ennahda party and Essebsi’s Nidaa Tounes yet to announce their candidates. Tayha Tounes split from Nidaa amid a power struggle between Chahed and Essebsi’s son.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihen Laghmari in Tunis at jlaghmari@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Tarek El-Tablawy, Michael Gunn

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