8,000 Tunisians sign petition asking for clarity on parliament speaker's wealth

Recent reports claim Rashid Ghannouchi has become one of the country's wealthiest men without any apparent business interests

Ennahda parliament speaker Rashid Ghannouchi waves to supporters during a meeting in Tunis in October. AP

More than 8,000 Tunisians have signed an online petition calling for a public financial audit of Tunisia’s parliamentary speaker Rashid Ghannouchi and other prominent political figures.

The petition appears to have been prompted by reports in Egyptian media suggesting Mr Ghannouchi’s wealth run into billions of dollars.

The reports, which cite ‘media sources’ claim that, in addition to a personal fortune estimated as equal to about a fifth of the country’s annual budget, Mr Ghannouchi has made extensive real estate investments and purchased a number of luxury cars.

According to the petition, after returning to Tunisia in 2011, Mr Ghannouchi has “become, in the last nine years, one of the richest people in Tunisia,” despite no indication of him having undertaken any commercial work outside of politics.

The petition, which was started by Tunisian civil society activist Anis Mansouri calls for the audit to be overseen by a number of bodies, including Tunisia’s general trade union, the UGTT, the employers’ union, Utica and the Tunisian League of Human Rights, (LTDH). In addition, the petition calls for the involvement of the government’s anti-corruption body, Instance Nationale de Lutte Contre la Corruption (INLUCC).

Mr Mansouri did not respond to requests for comment by The National, but told the Al Ain media outlet, "We only ask for financial transparency in political and government circles, since it is not reasonable for a person to enter politics and, once he obtains government or partisan positions, he becomes a wealthy person."

Contacted by journalists from Asharq Al Awsat, senior Ennahda party official Riyad Al Shuaibi cast doubts on reports of Mr Ghannouchi's wealth, stressing that the parliamentary speaker had declared his wealth and assets on several past occasions, suggesting that this latest move was politically motivated.

In addition to an audit of Mr Ghannouchi’s personal finances, the petition also calls for an investigation into the finances of several high political profile figures. Named with the petition are prominent Ennahda leaders Noureddine Bhiri, Mohamed Ben Salem, former prime minister Hamadi Jebali and members of Mr Ghannouchi’s immediate family. Also named is Sufian Toubal, the former head of Ennahda’s past secular rivals, Nidaa Tounes.

As speaker of the parliament, Mr Ghannouchi is mandated to deputise for the head of state in the case of his incapacity, as was the case following the initial illness of Tunisia’s former president Beji Caid Essebsi, who died in July of last year.

Mr Ghannouchi has led a storied career within Tunisian politics. After co-founding Ennahda, (originally referred to as the Islamic Tendency Movement) in 1981, Mr Ghannouchi served two lengthy stints in prison before leaving for the UK in 1988 where he remained for 22 years.

On returning to Tunisia in 2011, Mr Ghannouchi and Ennahda went on to play a dominant role within Tunisian politics. However, the party has been repeatedly dogged by accusations of links to the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as charges of having benefited from overseas funding, which is illegal in Tunisia.