Tunisian opposition figure urges ‘new political vision’

By Yosra Ouanes

TUNIS (AA) - A Tunisian opposition figure on Thursday called for a “new political vision” amid ongoing protests against the government.

Hamma Hammami, secretary-general of the leftist Tunisian Workers' Party (TWP), said that the country’s political opposition “requires a new political vision that unites us behind a single goal: the departure of the government and the coalition it represents”.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of a press conference organized by the TWP in capital Tunis.

Hammami is also a spokesman for the Popular Front, a coalition of several left-wing and nationalist opposition parties that collectively hold 15 of 217 seats in parliament.

The opposition leader went on to call for “a new revolution to save the previous one [in 2011]”.

Tunisia saw numerous popular protests last year amid an ongoing economic recession that has dogged the North African country since its 2011 revolution.

On Jan. 14, Tunisians will mark the passage of seven years since the popular uprising that brought down the regime of autocratic president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after more than two decades in power.