Senior lawmaker urges discussion of Tunisia's "critical political situation"

The second vice-president of Tunisia's parliament on Monday urged Tunisian President Kais Saied to gather all political parties "to discuss the critical political situation of the country."

"Tunisia is living a serious political, economic and social crisis intensified by the pandemic of the coronavirus," Tarek Ftiti said in a statement to the private radio Shems FM.

His statement came a day after the Islamist party Ennahda (Renaissance), the majority party in parliament, decided to break with the sitting government led by Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh.

Ennahda, with 54 parliamentary seats, recently voiced its intention to demand the departure of Fakhfakh's government, citing "suspicion of conflict of interests and abuse of power of Fakhfakh."