Tunisia's president criticised over party crisis intervention

By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's president was criticised by opponents on Monday for breaching the constitution after trying to end a dispute in which 32 lawmakers have threatened to resign over what they say is his son's attempts to control his party. The turmoil within the Nidaa Tounes party threatens to undermine a period of political stability for Tunisia following its transition to democracy after its 2011 uprising ousted autocrat Zine Abidine Ben Ali. The resignation of Nidaa Tounes lawmakers would leave rival Islamist party Ennahda with the strongest position in parliament, and comes just as the country looks to enact sensitive economic reforms. Beji Caid Essebsi appeared on state television late on Sunday to announce the creation of a committee to negotiate between the party's two factions to find a consensus. Opponents accused him of violating the constitution by blurring lines between the state and his party. "The president has disrespected the constitution, it is prohibited to mix the state with party business," said Issam Chebbi, leader of the Republican Party. "It's clear he does not know how to distinguish between the two roles." The People's Party in statement asked him to appear in parliament to explain what it called breach of the constitution. "Essebsi's speech showed that he is not a president for all Tunisians," it said. Nidaa Tounes, founded by Essebsi, emerged as a political force in 2013 to lead popular protests against the then Ennahda government, eventually forcing it to step down and make way for a non-partisan transitional government and new elections. Insiders say Nidaa Tounes is now divided into two wings, one led by the president's son Hafhed Caid Essebsi and the other by Mohsen Marzouk, a former leftist activist and the party's secretary general. Earlier this month, the factions degenerated into fight with bats and fists at a luxury hotel where the party was meeting. The camp led by the president's son is pushing for a larger role through a party restructuring. Hafedh Caid Essebsi this month called for a party congress, which Marzouk's wing rejected. Marzouk's wing resists what some see as an attempt at a hereditary transfer of power and return of the autocratic style of the Ben Ali era. Allies of the president dismiss accusations they are looking to place his son into a position of influence. Marzouk said on his official Facebook page that it was time to take a painful decision, indicating a possible further split in the party. (Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Alison Williams)