Tunisia Islamists avoid backing presidential candidate

TUNIS, Nov 8 (BSS/AFP): Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party, which came second behind its secular rival in landmark parliamentary polls last month, said Saturday it was not backing any candidate in a forthcoming presidential election.
The party, which won 69 out of 217 parliamentary seats in October, is not fielding a candidate for the November 23 vote in the impoverished North African nation, the cradle of the Arab Spring uprisings.
Ennahda's consultative council also decided not to endorse any presidential candidate and to leave the choice to members to elect a "president who guarantees democracy," the party said on Twitter.