In a context of internal dispute, the one who now heads the Ennahdha bloc in the hemicycle is in charge of maintaining order in the ranks of the Islamist formation.
At 55, MP Imed Khemiri is leading the Ennahdha bloc in the Assembly of People’s Representatives (APR), where the Islamist party has 52 MPs. He was elected with 31 votes to 21 against Fathi Ayadi on October 4.
- Youth sacrificed to activism
Born in Bellevue, peripheral district of Tunis, in November 1964, Imed Khemiri studied at the technical high school of Radès then at the high school Ibn Charaf in Tunis before joining the Faculty on April 9 to embark on sociology. He then joined the UGTE, Tunisian General Union of Students, Islamist in color, and became a young leader.
On the benches of the university, he also joined the Ennahdha movement and took the head of its regional delegation in Tunis West. However, in 1991, the year of his license, the student movement protesting the Ben Ali regime was heavily repressed. Students were killed, others arrested, including Imed Khemiri. He spent ten years behind bars, between Tunis, Sousse and Bizerte. The UGTE commemorates these events every 8 May by organizing a “day of the student martyr.”
- The historical setting of Ennahdha
He resumed his studies at the Faculty of April 9 after his detention and, ironically, wrote a dissertation on marginalized youth. He then set up a company selling spare parts, especially automobiles, marketed in Tunisia, and continued his activism.
SOME SAY HE IS AT ODDS WITH THE PARTY ESTABLISHMENT
After the revolution, this historic setting joined the Shura Council (Ennahdha’s advisory council). Some then attribute to his differences with the party establishment. It will be necessary for him to wait until 2014 to join the office of the Shoura and to rise to the foreground by being elected to the Assembly of people’s representative (APR) on the lists of Manouba, city to the north-west of Tunis where he has elected residence. That year, he supported the separation of preaching activities and politics at the Tenth Congress of Ennahdha. The following year, he became its spokesperson.
- Ghannouchi’s candidate
Member of the very selective political office of the formation with an Islamist reference, Imed Khemiri appeared as the candidate of Rached Ghannouchi during his election at the head of the Nahdhaoui bloc in the ARP. Conversely, his competitor, Fathi Ayadi, is part of the “group of 100”: 100 signatories of the petition opposing the “sheikh” candidacy to his own succession at the head of the party in October.
Through these two men, the deputies would, in fact, have expressed their plebiscite or opposition to the leader of Ennahdha. In a stormy context, in full search of compromise on the future of training – with the prospect of an eleventh Congress – Imed Khemiri appears against a loyal cadre. For him, there is no question of joining the petitioners: it will be up to the congressmen to decide the question of “sovereignty.”
- Well-established communication
Calm and affable, Imed Khemiri calculates his words and his image. He goes on TV shows with his serious air, his suit and tie and his square glasses. And happily shares his media interventions on social networks. He did not hesitate to defend Rached Ghannouchi and his cap as president of the ARP on his Facebook page when a motion to withdraw confidence was filed against him by the opposition last July.
HE HAPPILY SHARES HIS MEDIA INTERVENTIONS ON SOCIAL NETWORKS
His retention as the spokesperson also reflects the confidence placed in him by the president of Ennahdha and his entourage. He therefore continues to accept the declarations of Ennahdha and readily qualifies Ghannouchi as a “man of reconciliation.”
- Politician par excellence
Man willingly presents himself as a champion of modernity and tolerance. As proof of this, he supports the law against violence against women in 2017, when he headed the Committee on Rights and Freedoms, during his previous mandate at the ARP.
He is not radical, qualifies his detractors. He certainly knows how to navigate between different codes, and many recognize him as a diplomatic talent. At a time when Ennahdha, with his 52 deputies, is far from the account to have texts adopted by the ARP (the simple majority is 109 votes), compromise is more than necessary for him. And Imed Khemir can play a role in building bridges with other parties. This fine negotiator is indeed described as conciliatory, and for some, embodies the figure of the politician par excellence.
